Rose Tyler, Ninja Assassin
by cheri1
Summary: Ten/Rose with Donna. AU. After leaving Rose in the parallel universe with the clone, the Doctor and Donna accidentally cross into another universe where Rose has been raised as a ninja in 1603 Japan. FINISHED.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This story is AU and is set directly after the Doctor leaves the clone and Rose behind in Journey's End. In this story, the metacrisis doesn't affect Donna's mind and she continues to travel with the Doctor.

Chapter One

The room was silent, so very silent. Only the soft wheezing of the TARDIS could be heard. Donna was standing on one side of the console, unsure what to say while the Doctor stood on the other side, utterly dejected and heartbroken, gripping the rim of the console while he stared blankly at the bits and bobs in front of him. Donna's heart went out to her best friend. He had just given up the love of his life and left her with his clone and she felt like she should say something, anything to comfort him, but what was there to say? So she just stood there, silent.

Finally, the silence became too unbearable and she decided to go to her room. She walked softly past the Doctor, heading towards the back door.

"Donna?"

Donna froze at the sound of his voice. She turned around slowly and her heart nearly broke when she saw the Doctor. He was gazing at her with an forlorn look on his face.

"Yeah?" she said.

"Do you think I did the right thing?"

Again, Donna was unsure of what to say. She didn't think he did the right thing since having Rose nearby made him happy, happier than she had ever saw him. But she also knew in his mind the Doctor made a difficult choice and did what he felt he had to do. That was what she told her friend. The Doctor snorted derisively.

"Yeah, had to do what I had to do," he said, shaking his head in disgust. "Sometimes I get so tired of doing what I have to do and giving up my happiness for the sake of the universe."

He sighed and shook his head.

"I can't dwell on that. She's gone forever and there's nothing I can do about it now," he said, putting his hands back on the rim while he stared at the rotor. "I made my bed and now I have to lie in it, as the saying goes."

"Doctor. I…wish there was something I could do."

The Doctor gave her a warm smile.

"You can keep me company and give me your friendship. That's all I ask," he said.

Donna smiled and nodded. The Doctor was about to say something more when suddenly the TARDIS began to vibrate violently. Donna yelled as she was knocked off her feet and fell to the ground. She tried to get up while the Doctor clung to the rim but the shaking was too intense.

"What's going on?" Donna yelled to the Doctor.

"Don't know!" the Doctor said.

"Oh…great!" Donna replied as she tried to hold on to the grate under her.

The TARDIS rattled and shook and for a moment Donna was terrified the TARDIS would shake itself to pieces. Then the shaking stopped and everything calmed down.

"Donna, are you okay?" the Doctor said as he got to his feet.

"Yeah. I think so. I'm just surprised my teeth are still in my bleedin' head," Donna said, getting to her feet. "What happened?"

"Don't know but I'm going to find out," the Doctor said, checking his monitor.

Donna steadied herself and walked towards him. She stopped when she saw the shocked look on his face.

"Let me guess, it's something bad," she said.

"Well, depends on what your definition of "bad" is," the Doctor said.

"Well…how 'bout…space octopus has the TARDIS in its tentacles," Donna said sarcastically.

"No…I like that though, very imaginative," the Doctor said. "No, actually, we've been thrown off course, waaay off course."

"How far off course?" Donna said.

"Well, according to the TARDIS, we are now in Japan in the year 1603."

"Why'd we end up there?" Donna said. "Is there another Jenny here somewhere?"

"I hope not," the Doctor said, glancing at his hand. "But the TARDIS seemed to have landed in his time period for some reason."

"Let me guess, we're going to find out why."

"Wow, you read my mind, that's impressive."

"No. I've traveled with you long enough to know you're far too curious to pass this up."

"That too," the Doctor said. "Besides, you've never been to Japan before. Might be worth a look, eh? Especially Mount Fuji?"

Donna noticed the excitement and the gleam returning to the Doctor's eyes and she realized that a bit of adventure was just the thing to take his mind off of Rose. She nodded.

"Yeah. Let's go see Mount Fuji," she said.

"Molto Bene! I must warn you though, this is the era of the Samurai."

"Is that bad?" Donna said.

"Not as bad as it could be. There was contact with England at this time so we won't be thrown on a fire as white faced demons or something like that."

"Well, thank God for that," Donna said dryly.

"Not to worry, as long as we don't insult a Samurai, we'll keep our heads intact."

"Then I'll be sure to stay away from any Samurai I see," Donna said. "I like having my head firmly on my body."

"Hold on, Donna. Next stop, feudal Japan!" the Doctor said as he prepared to land the TARDIS.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The dream was always the same.

She stood alone in a field staring up at the starry night sky. The cool night breeze whipped her blonde hair around her face while she gazed up at the stars, feeling empty and alone and so out of place.

Then suddenly one of the stars grew brighter and brighter and began to come down from the sky. She watched, entranced, while the star floated down and came to rest on the ground in front of her. By that time, it was a blinding radiance and she couldn't look at it directly.

Then the light faded and a man stood in front of her. But unlike any man she had ever seen. He was tall and thin with spiky brown hair. His skin was white like hers and his eyes were the deepest brown. He wore clothes that resembled the things the gaijin wore but even his clothes didn't match theirs.

As she stared at this star man she could sense his power and authority and she felt herself kneeling to him, staring up at him with silent reverence. The man stared at her for a moment and then held out his hand to her.

"Come with me," he said. "Be one with me."

She stood up and he came forward and embraced her and then the light burst forth from his body and she was enveloped in the blinding brilliance. She never had any idea what happened to her after that because that was usually when she woke up but she felt sure that someone as powerful as the star man would have destroyed her with his fiery light and that more than anything made her afraid of the dream.

She had consulted, Toshi, her sensei, the one who had taught her the arts of ninjitsu. He was the most respected elder in her village and a ninja master. He had also been the only one to accept her when they brought her to the village as a baby and even now she sought his counsel whenever she could. She had told him about the dream and asked him if he knew what it meant. Toshi sat back on his pillow and gazed up at the heavens, deep in thought.

"Perhaps this "star man" is a kami," he finally said.

"A spirit?" she said. "What would a spirit want with me?"

"Why wouldn't a spirit want something from you?" Toshi said.

"Because I'm not Japanese. I'm gaijin," she said.

"But you were raised by Japanese parents, ever since you were a little baby so you are Japanese in mind and spirit," Toshi said. "Besides, no one knows the minds of the kami. Perhaps they do not see Japanese or gaijin, only a person."

She considered that for a moment and then nodded.

"But why would a kami destroy me?" she asked.

"What makes you think the kami destroyed you?"

"Because he surrounded me with his fire light. No one can survive that."

"Perhaps you will be the one who does," Toshi said, his black eyes twinkling with merriment.

"But what should I do if this dream comes true?"

"Well…I believe you should follow your belly and let it tell you what to do," Toshi said.

She wasn't too sure about that. Even though she had been trained and was working as a ninja, she still had her doubts that she was worthy enough to be called a warrior, much less have a kami visit and ask her to come with him. But she pushed those thoughts and the dream to the back of her mind. It was her turn to go hunting along with a few other warriors from the village. She dressed in a green dogi so she could blend into the leaves of the trees, grabbed her bow and arrows and her tanto dagger if she needed it and headed down the mountain path towards the forests below.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Donna had landed on the other side of the forests. The Doctor stepped outside, dressed in his usual outfit while Donna chose to wear a light blue kimono with white cranes on it, white tabi socks and leather sandals. The Doctor breathed in the fresh air and pointed to the mountains beyond the forests.

"Aaaah, just look at the view," he said to Donna. "Isn't it gorgeous?"

"Yeah. 'Cept that don't look like Mount Fuji. I've seen photos of Mount Fuji and that looks nothing like it."

"Well spotted. That's because it's not Mount Fuji."

"Well…what mountain is it then?" Donna said.

The Doctor stared at her as he struggled to come up with an answer.

"Um…the Great Dragon Mountain," the Doctor said, trying to save face.

But Donna wasn't buying it.

"Oh, really?" she said. "Never heard of it."

"That's because it's a mystical mountain, deep in the darkest recesses of old Japan."

"In other words, you don't have a clue where we are, do ya?"

"Not a sausage," the Doctor said. "But that's half the fun, eh? Let's go!"

"Yeah, I can't wait to run into a herd of samurai and then the fun really starts," Donna muttered as she followed him.

They walked into the forest and picked their way through the trees. Donna had to admit the forest was peaceful and as they walked, she thought she saw a fox dart away several feet ahead. Seeing no samurai or monsters, she relaxed and concentrated on the beauty of the woods.

"Magnificent. Nature at its finest," the Doctor said as he strolled along.

"Yeah, it is beautiful," Donna said. "But where are we going?"

"Hither and yon. Thither and mither. Ding and dong."

"You don't know, do ya?"

"Donna. How about we just walk and see what happens, okay? I liked to be surprised."

"Maybe you do but I don't," Donna muttered to herself.

The Doctor whistled a cheerful tune as they walked through the trees. Then suddenly, he stopped, froze and fell silent. Donna stopped behind him, her heart racing at the alert look on her friend's face. The Doctor had keener senses than she did and he was almost always right when danger was near. She looked around and noticed a fallen tree branch nearby. She quickly grabbed it and held it like a club while the Doctor put his fingers to his lips and beckoned for her to follow. Donna did as he asked, branch at the ready while she looked around. Then the Doctor stopped again and Donna froze. The Doctor glanced up at the trees and then suddenly, he shoved Donna out of the way moments before an arrow hit a tree near the place she'd been standing. The Doctor grabbed the tree branch from Donna and thrust it up into the tree. They heard the sound of something climbing higher up inside the tree and the Doctor cursed before he told Donna to run back to the TARDIS.

They turned and ran as fast as they could. While they ran, Donna could hear the rustling of leaves while someone or something moved with them through the trees. Then suddenly, there was a flash of green in front of them and a male ninja wearing a green dogi dropped down from the trees.

"Oh bugger, there goes our peaceful nature walk," Donna muttered as the ninja pulled out his katana sword from the scabbard hanging off the side of his belt.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Good day," the Doctor said cheerfully to the ninja. "We're a couple of tourists and we'd like to find something to do. Could you recommend something touristy to us?"

The ninja held his tanto up towards his face and slowly advanced towards the Doctor.

"I'm warning you. You don't wanna do that," the Doctor growled as he positioned himself between the ninja and Donna.

The ninja froze, hesitating when he noticed the Doctor wasn't backing down. The Doctor smirked at the confusion on his face.

"If you think a pocketknife is gonna deter me, mate, guess again," he said.

The ninja recovered from his shock and lunged at the Doctor. The Doctor grabbed his wrist and jerked it before he decked the ninja in the face. The ninja grunted and staggered back. Donna watched while the Doctor followed him and ducked when the ninja thrust his tanto in the Doctor's face.

"Donna, get to safety!" the Doctor yelled as he ducked another knife thrust.

Donna hesitated, torn between following the Doctor's orders and helping her friend. She noticed the tree limb lying nearby and picked it up. The ninja saw what she was doing and kicked it out of her hand.

"Damn it, Donna, go!" the Doctor snarled at her before he kicked the ninja in the stomach.

Donna turned to run and froze when another ninja dropped from the trees, drew back his bow and aimed an arrow at her heart.

"I can't run!" Donna yelled to the Doctor.

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder and growled.

"Leave her alone! Fight me!" he yelled to the ninjas.

Just then another ninja dropped out of the trees and the Doctor grunted when he kicked him directly in the small of the back. The first ninja followed that up with a roundhouse kick to the face and the Doctor dropped to the ground in a daze while the two ninjas drew arrows from their quivers, put them in the bows and aimed the arrows at the Doctor's head. He held up his hands, indicating he surrendered.

"What do we do with him?" the first ninja said.

"Kill him!" the second one said. "They're nothing but filthy gaijin. Kill them both."

"No, wait," the ninja covering Donna said. "Take them back to the village. We can hold them for ransom. The gaijin might pay us for their lives."

"Yes, we're worth a lot," the Doctor said. "We're ambassadors with the British government. We're valuable. Please spare us."

The first ninja snorted.

"You don't look valuable. You're the ugliest thing I've ever seen," he said.

"That may be but I promise you'll be rewarded if we're returned unharmed," the Doctor said.

The ninjas looked at each other.

"What do you think?" the second ninja said to his companions.

"Eh, take them back to the village. We could always use some slaves if they've lying about being valuable," the first ninja said. "Okay, on your feet and follow us."

"See, Donna, we got to climb the mountain after all," the Doctor said when thirty minutes later they were walking up a mountain trail in the company of the ninjas.

"Yeah, I've always wanted to see Japan while a ninja aimed an arrow at my back," Donna said.

"So…where are we anyway?" the Doctor asked the ninjas.

He got no response and shrugged.

"Ninjas typically lived in the mountains of Iga or Koga. I'm guessing this is one of them?" he offered.

Again, the ninjas didn't answer him.

"Not very talkative," the Doctor said to Donna.

"Ya think? They're probably busy thinking up ways to torture and kill us."

"Perhaps," the Doctor said with a shrug.

"You really don't let anything bother you. Is that because you're an optimist or because you have a death wish?" Donna said.

"Oh, optimist, always," the Doctor.

"Well, I hope the glass is half full this time and I hope they don't drown us in it," Donna said.

They walked on.

She finished hunting. She had caught several rabbits. She tied them together and slung them over her back. It had been a good day's hunting, although she missed killing a deer. Still, there was always tomorrow. She gathered her things and started back for the village.

It took a couple a little over an hour and a half but she finally reached the top of the mountain and the little village hidden on a series of long, deep ridges on the far side of the mountain. The ridges were connected by rope ladders, foot and hand holds or carved out paths. It was a precarious life but the mountain offered their clan protection from their enemies. There was one path that led up to the first ridge and another path that led down the back of the mountain to the valley behind it. There they had a few more houses and an open area where they performed rituals and did their ninja training. She reached the first ridge and called to the others, telling them that she was back but there was no answer. She wondered what had become of everyone and then she noticed movement in the valley. Near the back of the practice field was a raised wooden platform that was used as a stage and also as a place of execution. She noticed a man and a woman were tied to two wooden poles that were sometimes used to torture and execute prisoners. She watched and noticed that most of the villagers were coming out of the houses around the open area, advancing towards the prisoners.

"Hmm," she said. "Must have caught some spies."

She hurried to her house, laid the rabbits just inside the sliding paper door and then headed down to take a look for herself.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Still having fun?" Donna said sarcastically to the Doctor while she was tied to the wooden stake.

"Well, I'm a bit confused. I thought we were going to be spared and here we are, tied to a stake, how did that happen?" the Doctor said.

"Maybe because they lied?" Donna said.

"That's true. I used to be able to read people like a book. Must be getting slow in my old age," the Doctor said.

Donna wondered if the Doctor was kidding her or being completely serious before deciding she really didn't want to know. She watched as people began to come out of the wooden houses and head towards them. All of them had hoods over their faces to hide their identity. She glanced up and noticed one green clad ninja was near the top of the mountain, heading down the steep mountain path they had been forced to come down.

"Making a fashionable entrance, that one?" Donna said.

"Hmm?" the Doctor said.

"Look up. There's a straggler."

The Doctor looked up.

"Oh. He's dressed like our captors. Probably was out in the forest and just returned," he said.

"And I'm sure he's eager to watch the torture with the rest of em," Donna said.

One man emerged from a house near the back but his face was uncovered. The man was ancient looking with a wizened face and long white hair that was tied back in a ponytail. He was wearing a dark blue kimono and used a wooden staff like a cane to weave his way through the crowd.

"The headman?" Donna said.

"Perhaps. One of the village elders at any rate."

"Good. Maybe he'll call this whole thing off then," Donna said.

The man stepped up onto the platform and stopped a few feet away from the Doctor. The Doctor smiled warmly at him while he studied him.

"Who are you?" the elderly man finally said.

"I'm called the Doctor, this is Donna," the Doctor said, nodding his head towards Donna.

"English?" the elderly man said.

"Yes," the Doctor said.

"Why are you here? Did you come to trade with us or are you working for the daimyo?"

"Neither. We're travelers and we were exploring the forest when we ran into some of your villagers," the Doctor said.

"You have come far in your travels. Not many venture here. There is much danger."

"Especially from sword wielding yobs," Donna said.

The elderly man turned his attention to her.

"It is unusual to find a gaijin woman out this far," he said.

"Gaijin?" Donna said.

"Japanese word for foreigner," the Doctor said.

"Oh. Yes. Well, I'm a bit of an adventurer," Donna said to the man. "We meant no harm. We're just exploring like the Doctor said."

"Taro said you were ambassadors," he said.

"We are," the Doctor said. "But we're on our day off and we're traveling around and seeing your beautiful country. It's gorgeous."

"It'd be even more gorgeous if we were away from these wood poles," Donna said. "So could you set us free, please?"

"Not yet. We must make sure you are who you say you are. The daimyo has been using gaijin as spies to find us so he can destroy us. We don't want spies in our midst."

"Oh, we're not spies, just travelers," the Doctor said.

"Yup. Just travelers, that's us," Donna said.

"Perhaps. We shall see. I will send a few of my men to spy on the English and see if they make any mention of you. If you are valuable to them, they will be missing you in a day or two."

Donna cursed under her breath, thinking how sometimes it wasn't worth it being the Doctor's companion. She figured after a day or two they would become impatient and figure they were spies and have them executed. She hoped the Doctor could come up with a plan before they were beheaded or burned at the stake.

"Everyone go back to the village. There's nothing we can do except wait," he said to the crowd. "I want to see Jiro and Ieyasu privately. I have a mission for them."

As the crowd began to drift away, Donna glanced up and noticed the ninja was now running down the path in a seeming panic. While the elderly man started to walk away, they heard the ninja calling to him.

"Toshi-sama, wait!" the ninja was yelling.

"Toshi," the Doctor said. "At least we know his name now."

"Good. We'll probably be screaming it out in agony when they burn us," Donna said.

Toshi stood and watched while the ninja ran down the path and then across the open area. When the ninja reached the platform, she stopped and stared at the prisoners. The Doctor noticed two things. One that her eyes and skin were Caucasian and two, the ninja was staring at him in shock and horror.

"It's him, Toshi-sama, the kami," the ninja said, pointing.

The Doctor was surprised. The ninja was female. Intrigued by that and the suggestion he was a kami, he kept his concentration on her as she stepped up onto the platform.

"Oi, what's a kami?" Donna asked the Doctor.

"Nature spirit. In the Shinto religion, they believe that all things in nature like rocks and trees and rivers have a spirit," the Doctor.

"But you're a man," Donna said.

"Are you sure this is the kami?" Toshi said to the ninja.

"Yes, Toshi-sama. This is the star man."

Now the Doctor went from feeling mild surprise to shock and Donna's mouth dropped open.

"Who are you?" the Doctor said to the ninja.

To his further shock, the ninja dropped to her knees in front of him. As she knelt in front of him, she pulled off her hood and all Donna heard from the Doctor was the sharp intake of breath when they saw Rose Tyler staring up at him.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"No, wait!" Donna said as she stared at Rose. "We just left her in the other universe. How the hell can she be here in feudal Japan?"

The Doctor's mind raced while Rose stared up at him. He remembered the rough ride just before landing and groaned.

"What? I don't like the sound of that. Why are you groaning?" Donna said.

"When we went over the void, I don't think we ended up back in our own universe. We crossed over into another one," the Doctor said.

"And in this universe, Rose is a ninja?" Donna said.

Rose's head jerked towards Donna and the fear on her face amped up a notch.

"See, Sensei, they know my name. They're kami," Rose said to Toshi. "This proves it! He is the star man and she…um…I don't know who she is."

"I'm Donna Noble."

Rose gave her a blank look.

"Please forgive me. I don't know which kami that is."

"I'll be any kami you want if you just untie me and let me go," Donna said.

"Donna," the Doctor chided her. "Your name is Rose?" he said to Rose.

"Rosu, yes," she said, pronouncing it with a heavy Japanese accent.

"Rosu," the Doctor repeated. "And how did you end up here?"

Rose frowned.

"You don't know? You're kami…from the stars. You weren't watching me from above?" Rose said, pointing up.

"Well…it's a big universe, I watch over many things besides Earth," the Doctor said.

"But you came to me in my dream."

"What dream?" the Doctor said, intrigued.

She was about to answer when one of the ninjas jumped up onto the stage and she stood up to get out of his way. He was young and his hair was tied up in a topknot and the ponytail jutted out over the front of his skull.

"Toshi-sama, there are reports of samurai in the forest. They seem to be searching for something."

"Hmmm," Toshi said, stroking his chin, "I would say they were looking for these two. But if they're kami…"

Donna wasn't sure what to say and looked to the Doctor for answers.

"We're not kami," the Doctor said. "However, we might be able to help with the samurai if they're threatening you. If you let us go, we can help you but you have to trust us. I give you my word we won't harm you or your village and if we break that word, you can chop us into bits and feed us to the birds. Deal?"

"Sensei, can we trust them?" the ninja said to Toshi.

Toshi looked at the Doctor for a moment, studying him, before he nodded.

"I believe so. Even if he isn't kami, this man still has an aura of importance about him," Toshi said.

"Oh great, stroke his already monstrous ego," Donna muttered.

Toshi ordered the ninja to free them. He pulled out his katana and cut the ropes. As they stepped away from the poles, the Doctor noticed Rose was backing up a bit in fear. He was still interested in her dream and why she thought he was a kami. He also wanted to find out how she ended up with the others and he resolved to speak to her when he could find time alone with her. For the moment though, he had to keep his promise to help the others and he told Toshi that he and Donna were at their disposal. The Doctor noticed that the ninja seemed wary of them and he doubted they trusted him and donna. But Toshi seemed to be a man of great importance, possibly the leader, and he sensed the respect of the others and knew that respect was probably what was keeping them alive and free at the moment.

He looked at Rose and noticed she still looked fearful. He was determined to win her trust so she would answer his questions. But for the moment he decided to be as friendly as he could be so she would learn to trust him.

"Come with us," Toshi said to the Doctor and Donna, "if you're willing to help, you can go with some of the fighters to find out what the samurai want." He pointed to the ninja. "This is Akira. Akira, look after them."

"Hai, Sensei," Akira said, bowing.

"Take some of the best fighters and the…Doctor and Donna to find the samurai. But do not fight them straight away. Find out what they want first."

"Hai, Sensei."

Toshi nodded and was about to leave the platform when Rose stepped around him and stopped him. She whispered something to him and the Doctor watched intently as Donna stepped up beside him.

"So…" Donna said softly to the Doctor, "are you going to befriend Rose?"

The Doctor nodded.

"Are you going to start a romance with her?" Donna whispered.

He didn't answer and Donna could tell he was thinking that over. She sensed the answer was yes but he was hesitant to do or say anything.

"We'll see…" he finally said to her. "At the moment, I just want to gain her trust and find out about this dream of hers."

Donna nodded. They watched while Rose finished speaking with Toshi and Toshi nodded and patted her on the shoulder. Rose stood and watched the Doctor while Toshi walked over to him.

"Rosu wants to go with you," Toshi said softly to them, "is that acceptable?"

The Doctor grinned at that and nodded.

"She is my adopted daughter," Toshi said in a low voice. "She may be female but she is a great fighter."

"Of that I have no doubt," the Doctor said.

"She says she has dreamt of you, that you came from the stars. Perhaps your destinies are linked," Toshi said.

"Of that I also have no doubt," the Doctor said.

Toshi bowed his head.

"Kami or not, you and your friend is welcome here as long as you are friends to us."

"We are friends," the Doctor said, looking pointedly at Rose, "and thank you for releasing us."

"I trust in dreams and if my daughter has seen you, you are obviously meant to be here. I trust her so I will trust you."

"Thank you," the Doctor said.

Toshi told Rose and Akira to take them back up to the mountaintop houses so they could get ready to go. Rose and Akira bowed and Akira beckoned to the Doctor and Donna to follow them.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Oh God," Donna wheezed as they walked up the path to the top of the mountain, "couldn't they have built the village in a more convenient place?"

They were nearly to the top and Donna felt like her lungs were going to burst since they were hurrying as fast as they could. She noticed Rose who was walking near the front was having absolutely no trouble breathing and ever once in awhile was giving her odd looks as Donna's breathing became more labored.

Meanwhile, the Doctor was slowly moving closer to Rose, making it seem as if he were hurrying and catching up to her so she wouldn't be frightened. The thought of a parallel Rose living out her life as a ninja was intriguing to him. Somehow, given the times he watched her in action, it seemed to fit.

He finally caught up to her and slowed his pace to match hers, putting his hands in his pockets and pretending to ignore Rose's sideways glances at him. They walked together for a few minutes before Rose finally found the courage to speak.

"You're not kami?" she said to him.

The Doctor gave her a warm smile and shook his head.

"You're not from the stars?"

The Doctor considered that, wondering if he should be truthful or not. He decided that if Rose believed in kami, she could handle the truth.

"I am. But I'm not a kami. I'm a man," he said.

"There are men who live in the stars?" Rose asked.

"Not in the stars but on worlds near them," the Doctor said, gauging her reaction.

She considered that for a moment and the Doctor smiled when she glanced skyward for a moment.

"Why did you come here if you're from there?" she said, pointing up.

"I love the Earth. I love to visit it. I also help out when I can which is why I'm helping you and your friends."

"They're not my friends."

"Oh?" the Doctor said. "Do you have any friends?"

Rose fell silent for a moment and the Doctor's hearts ached when he realized she really had to think that over.

"Sensei cares for me but that's it," she finally said. "He's the only one who accepted me into the village."

"And no one else has?" the Doctor said.

Rose shrugged.

"I am gaijin. I'm not like them."

"No, you're not. You're something more," the Doctor said softly to himself.

They reached the top and the Doctor grunted when Donna suddenly flung herself on his back.

"The top! At last," she gasped.

Donna snickered at the odd look Rose was giving her.

"She's not used to walking up mountains, bless," he said to Rose while Donna took in big gulps of air.

"Oh bloody hell, the air is thin up here. I can't even get a decent breath of air now," Donna said. "When are we going back down?"

"She's not used to mountains, full stop. Bless," the Doctor said to Rose.

"Oh, piss off," Donna said while the Doctor sniggered. "Sorry," she said sheepishly to Rose. "It's true. I'm not used to climbing up mountains."

"It's okay. It took me awhile when I was a child to get used to living here. Part of my training was running up and down these mountain trails for hours so I could build up my strength."

"I envy you. Well, I envy you can walk up the mountains without passing out. I don't envy being trained to run up and down them," Donna said.

Akira came up to them and asked the Doctor and Donna to follow him. He guided them to a simple house near the center of the village. The house had a sliding door made of paper and the Doctor took his shoes off before going inside. Donna followed his lead and put her shoes besides his on the porch beside the door. Inside the interior was all wood but was very sparsely furnished with simple wooden furniture and a fire pit in the center of the main room. A few scrolls hung on the wall, translated with the help of the TARDIS. Donna read them. Most of them had Buddhist philosophy on them. Akira showed them the bedroom. It had tatami mats on the floor and he slid open a door and showed them futons that they could roll out at night along with some kimonos for relaxing in. He then walked over to a tatami mat in the far corner, rolled it up and used his tanto to open a long floorboard. He reached inside and brought out some green dogi, hoods and tabi and two katanas and tantos. He then put the floorboard back and smoothed out the mat.

"We have to hide some of our weapons and outfits in case we're attacked and need extra," Akira said to them. "I hope they fit you. They might fit you," he said to Donna. "But you…" he said, sizing the Doctor up. "You are tall."

"I'll make do," the Doctor said.

"When you're done, come outside," Akira said.

He left the room and the Doctor and Donna walked over to the clothes. Donna picked up a dogi and studied it.

"Need help?" the Doctor said.

"You know how to put these on?"

"Of course, I'm an expert on most Earth clothes. Just get undressed and I'll help you get suited up."

"You want me to be naked in front of ya?"

"Yes. Unless you intend on wearing this over your civvies," he said, pointing to the dogi.

Donna groaned and turned around. She stripped down to her bra and underpants and slowly turned around. The Doctor didn't comment on her nudity and Donna wondered why she was so worried about it since the Doctor cared for her in a platonic manner. He was very matter of fact as he helped her get dressed, not making any comment about her body and for that Donna was grateful since she was still a bit self conscious. He finished dressing her and Donna adjusted the hood over her face so she could breathe a bit better. She quickly turned when the Doctor stripped so he could have privacy. She waited till he told her he was ready. She turned and laughed when she saw the trousers. The kimono fit fine but his legs showed a bit because the trousers were designed for a shorter person and now there was a bit of skin showing between the end of the trousers and the top of his tabi socks. The Doctor shrugged.

"Said I'd make do with what they gave me," he said to her. "I prefer my suit but if they're going to be camouflaged, I don't want to give them away by standing out."

"I think you stand out anyway," Donna said fondly.

The Doctor finished up by putting on the hood and tying it around his face until only his eyes and a small amount of flesh around it showed.

"Hi-yah!" the Doctor said in a shrill voice while he made a karate pose.

Donna snorted at that.

"Let's get going, Bruce Lee, before they come in here after us," she said.

The Doctor grabbed the katanas. He tied the scabbard to Donna's side and put his on his back. He then shoved the scabbard of the tanto into her belt and made sure it was secure before doing the same with his own. Donna looked down and studied herself, wishing there was a mirror.

"Well, Ninja Woman, are you ready to slaughter some samurai?" the Doctor said.

"No, I'm ready to run in terror from the samurai before I end up in pieces!"

"Nonsense. You're the DoctorDonna," the Doctor said, patting her on the shoulder.

"Yeah, well I'm sure even the DoctorDonna could get chopped up into sushi," Donna muttered as she followed him out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Everyone stopped and stared at the Doctor as he and Donna emerged from the house. Their eyes started at his face and then slowly drifted down the hairy patch of exposed skin between his trousers and tabi socks. The Doctor seemed not to notice their reaction as he strolled down the wooden steps. Donna trailed behind him, noticing the odd looks from the villagers.

The Doctor scanned the villager, trying to find Rose. He noticed someone slightly taller than the average Japanese and made his way towards that person. As he and Donna walked towards the ninja, he noticed that a few of the villagers were putting saddles on some horses. He froze, his attention diverted when he saw the horses. They weren't the average size for horses, mainly pony sized and all of them a light grey but he could see quite clearly that they weren't ponies. His interest diverted, he walked over to them and Donna followed them. He walked up to a grey stallion and laid his hand on his neck. The stallion nickered and bobbed his head and the Doctor smiled as he stroked his neck.

"Where did you get horses like these?" he asked a nearby ninja.

"We bred them," the ninja said, putting a saddle on another one. "They're smaller than the samurai's war horses, faster and they can maneuver through the forest better."

"They're gorgeous," the Doctor said. "Is this what we'll be riding then?"

"We'll ride them on the way down and leave them at the edge of the forest," the ninja said. "If we need them, they'll be waiting."

The Doctor nodded. He turned and was startled when Rose was directly behind him. He marveled that he hadn't even sensed her approach. Rose had what looked like light grey blankets in her arms.

"Take these," she said, offering one to the Doctor and Donna. "We use these cloaks to blend in with the mountain on the way down. And we use grey horses."

The Doctor and Donna each took one and unfolded them. The cloaks were long, reaching down to the feet and each one had a hood. The Doctor fastened the cloak and pulled the hood up, obscuring his face while Donna did the same. Rose took a third one and put it on. The Doctor was about to speak to her but she walked away to tend to one of the horses.

"Are you sure we won't be spotted?" Donna asked the Doctor as she pulled the hood up over her head.

"We'll probably have a better chance of not being spotted wearing these," the Doctor said. "If the samurai are hunting for these people, I'm sure they're keeping watch anyway."

They looked to their right when Akira walked up, leading two mares by their bridles. He passed the bridles to the Doctor and Donna and the Doctor thanked him. He spoke soothing words to his horse before climbing onto her. He heard Donna cursing and looked over his shoulder at her. She had the wrong foot in the stirrup and was trying to hoist her body up into the saddle.

"You're doing it wrong. You've never ridden a horse before?" the Doctor said.

"Sorry, we didn't have many horses in Chiswick," Donna said.

The Doctor pointed to the correct foot and after a few bouncy steps, Donna was finally able to get up and get her foot over the saddle. The Doctor pointed to the bridle and instructed her how to control the horse. As he was doing that, Rose rode up on another mare. She stopped nearby and listened while the Doctor lectured Donna.

"You don't have horses where you come from?" she said when he finished instructing Donna.

"We do. But she's never been in the saddle before," the Doctor said. "I was just giving her some instructions on how to control the horse so she doesn't fall off the mountain."

"I've never met anyone who didn't know how to ride a horse," Rose said. "Everyone here is taught to ride almost as soon as they can walk."

"Well, I live in the…city," Donna said.

"London?" Rose said.

"Yes. How'd ya know?" Donna said.

"I've seen Englishmen before. I've hidden in the trees and heard them talk. They mentioned coming from a city calledLondon. You sound like them. You say you're not kami so you must be like them."

"I am. He isn't," Donna said, gesturing to the Doctor.

"Yes. He said he's from the stars."

"Gallifrey, to be precise, and we had horses there. Or at least something resembling horses."

"Is…Ga…Garufruay…"

Rose frowned, struggling with the pronunciation. The Doctor had to admit he liked her Japanese accent. So different from her British one. He thought the accent was pretty.

"Sorry," Rose said sheepishly. "I'm having trouble saying the name."

"No worries," the Doctor said.

"I mean to say, is it far from here?"

"Was. It's gone now."

"What happened to it?"

The Doctor was about to answer when Akira gave the signal for everyone to move out. Toshi and the villagers gathered around them and watched while Akira led them towards the mountain path that stretched down to the forest.

"It was destroyed," the Doctor said to Rose while they followed Akira.

"Is that why you travel now?" Rose said.

"Partly," the Doctor said, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Donna was okay. "What about you? You're not Japanese. How long have you been here?"

"Since I was a baby. There was a battle and my family was killed and our settlement was destroyed. Toshi found me and brought me back here. This is all I've ever known."

As they started down the mountain path, Akira stopped everyone. He turned in his saddle so he could look up at the rocks behind him. The Doctor and Donna followed his gaze and noticed two ninja were crouching down behind a couple of large rocks. Both were wearing the grey cloak and one of them was holding a wooden telescope.

"Where are they?" Akira said.

The ninja with the telescope scanned the grounds for a moment.

"They're in the forest. I can see some movement in between the trees," he said to them.

"How far?"

"Near the center of the forest."

Akira nodded and everyone followed him when he started down the mountain.

"So, your family was killed?" Donna said to Rose as they went down.

"Yes. In battle. Well…"

"Yes?" the Doctor said.

"Not a battle exactly because the samurai were better armed and better trained. More like a slaughter. I was hidden in the forest and that's where Toshi found me."

The Doctor wondered if her mother in this universe was Jackie Tyler. He could picture Jackie hiding her daughter in the woods. Then he grimaced when he picture Jackie's head being lobbed off with a sword. He also pictured her facing down the samurai, shouting curses at them before her head was cut off.

"Toshi raised me and trained me," Rose said. "I wasn't accepted by the others. They don't like the English because the English give the samurai guns and cannons and the samurai hunt for us with them. You're tolerated because Toshi leads the village. Otherwise, you'd be dead."

"And so would you," the Doctor said.

Rose nodded.

"I can take care of myself now so I can fight anyone who challenges me. I worked hard to protect myself and make Toshi-sama proud of me. I'm a great warrior now and some of the other warriors don't like that. But they won't fight me in a serious way because I can…"

"Kick their arses," the Doctor said, amused.

"Yes. Can you fight?"

"Yes. Why? Do you want to kick my arse as well?" the Doctor teased.

"No," Rose said, completely serious.

"I was just having ya on. Although…if we have time, it would be nice to have a bit of a spar? You say you're good. Perhaps you'd like to put that to the test with me?"

"To the death?" Rose said seriously.

"No, no, just a friendly match."

"Why?" Rose said, genuinely confused.

"Because I knew someone like you. She was a fighter much like yourself and I'd just like to compare her and you, in a friendly way, of course. No killing or bloodshed. Would you indulge me once we get back to the village?"

"Well, I usually do a bit of training and execises in the evening before I eat. Perhaps then, we can have the…match?"

"Sounds good," the Doctor said.

"Are you sure? Ninjas are trained to be warriors almost from birth," Rose said.

"I've fought more deadlier foes than ninjas and bested them. I think I can hold my own," the Doctor said.

Rose shrugged. She and the Doctor fell silent for awhile as they followed Akira down to the bottom of the mountains.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

When they reached the bottom of the mountains, the ninjas rode their horses into the forest and hid them among the trees.

"We're not taking the horses then?" Donna asked as they got down from them.

"Too noisy. We use them to get away after the fight," Rose said softly. "We climb up in the trees and ambush them from there."

"Climb?" Donna said incredulously before she looked at her own hands. "Look, I know the Doctor refers to us as apes but that doesn't mean I can climb trees."

"We use shuko," Rose said, handing her some from a small pack behind her horses saddle. "And foot spikes."

Donna looked at the small metal bands that had four spikes sticking out of them. The climbing claws were designed to fit on the hands and the foot spikes slipped over the tabi socks so the claws were underneath the toes. Rose handed a set to the Doctor and they watched as she slipped the metal bands around her hands and tied the spikes to the bottom of her tabi socks. The Doctor followed her example which shocked Donna.

"You're going up in the trees?" she said.

"Yes, aren't you?" the Doctor said.

"Um…no, I can't climb trees, I'm not a ninja," Donna said.

"And I am?" the Doctor said.

"Yeah. But…you're you. I'll look after the horses, you go be Jackie Chan for a bit."

"She's not helping?" Rose said to the Doctor after Donna moved away.

"She'll look after the horses," the Doctor said.

"But the horses are trained not to move," Rose said.

"Yeeeeah, don't tell her that," the Doctor said.

He finished putting on his shuko and foot spikes. Rose nodded her approval and the Doctor watched, impressed, as she went up the tree like a cat.

"Like to see my Rose do that," the Doctor muttered before he followed her up.

He was a bit slow at first but got the hang of it halfway up and quickly climbed up to a large limb.

"Very good," Rose said when he stepped out onto the limb and looked around.

"So now what do we do? Jump from tree to tree like squirrels?" the Doctor said.

"No, we have ropes between the trees, we use them. Go up to that large limb near the top."

"Okey-dokey."

The Doctor climbed up the tree trunk towards the limb Rose pointed to. When he reached up and stepped out onto it, he noticed a rope was tied to the trunk a foot above his head. He followed the rope with his eyes to a tree about fifteen feet away. He stepped out further onto the limb when he felt Rose coming up behind him. But she kept going and the Doctor watched, impressed, as she climbed up past the rope, stepped onto it and began to walk across it.

"My, my, you're full of surprises," he said.

He grinned when Rose got her balance and dashed across the rope and into the other tree. The Doctor reached up, grabbed the rope and used hand over hand to get across. Rose was waiting for him when he reached the other tree and put his feet on another large limb.

"You can't walk on the rope?" she said.

"Not as well as you can. I'm afraid if I tried it, I might slow you lot down. I'm not quite that nimble so I prefer hand over hand to get across."

Rose nodded and beckoned to him to follow her. She climbed up to another rope that was connected to another tree and the Doctor did the same. He could see the other ninjas were sprinting across the ropes and noticed they were falling behind but Rose didn't seem to mind. She went across and patiently waited for him to follow her. After the fourth tree, they heard startled yells in the distance.

"Some of the ninja found the samurai," Rose said to him. "Wait here, we might be able to ambush a few."

The Doctor nodded and he sat down on a branch a few feet above her head. He used the shuko on his right hand, embedding the claws in the tree trunk beside him so he could steady himself. They heard the sounds of battle in the distance and then heard the sound of horse hooves and panicked yells. The hooves were coming closer and Rose took her tanto out and held onto the trunk with her shuko while she crouched on the limb. Through the leaves they could see a samurai coming through the trees on his horse. When he went under the tree, Rose dropped down behind him. The Doctor used the claws to shimmy down, taking his katana out when he hit the ground but by then Rose had shoved the tanto into the samurai's neck, severing his jugular. The samurai fell to the ground, gasping and gurgling before Rose shoved her knife into his windpipe, killing him. The Doctor kept his thoughts about Rose killing the samurai to himself, realizing that she had been brought up to kill samurai and not show them any mercy. He and Donna were already on tenuous ground among the ninja without him lecturing them on the value of mercy. Rose stood up and grabbed the reins of the samurai's war horse. She led it over to the Doctor and got on. She motioned behind her and the Doctor got up on the horse. Rose took her katana out and rode the horse back towards the battle while the Doctor held on to her.

By now, the sounds in front of them were filled with chaotic yells and horse hooves. They saw a fleeing samurai riding towards them and Rose aimed her katana at his head. The samurai used his own katana and they hit one another's sword. Rose looked over her shoulder as the samurai went past and both she and the other warrior tried to turn their horses in the dense forest.

"Damn! I hate these huge horses," Rose cursed as the horse tried to turn around. "No mobility. The stupid fools, bringing them in here like this. Hey!" she said when the Doctor slid off the back of the horse.

"Keep going!" the Doctor said, withdrawing his katana and running towards the samurai.

He blocked a downward thrust of the samurai's katana with his own and ran around the back of his horse. The samurai yelled out in shock when the Doctor put his hands on the horse's rear end and vaulted up onto the back. The samurai grunted when the Doctor seized his head from behind and tried to get him in a headlock. The large metal helmet fell off, revealing a shaved head underneath. Once the helmet was off the Doctor tried to jerk his head back since the samurai was wearing a metal neck guard. Rose rode forward and seized the samurai's arm, wrenching his katana from his hand and throwing it away.

"No, wait!" the Doctor said when Rose raised her tanto to stab the samurai in the face.

The Doctor jerked the samurai's head forcefully to the side and sent him into unconsciousness.

"We can take him back to the village and get some information from him," the Doctor said. "Find out what they're doing here."

Rose nodded. She got down from the horse and helped the Doctor lay the unconscious man across his saddle.

"You're a lot stronger than you look. You'd make a good ninja," Rose said.

"Well, I've had martial arts training before," the Doctor said.

After the ambush was over, the samurai that the Doctor and Rose captured was the only one left alive. The Doctor was angry that some of the returning ninja wanted to kill him as well but Rose told them the Doctor's idea and they agreed to let him live for the moment. They led his horse and the other horse back to the ninja's horses. Donna was sitting under a tree waiting for them and she jumped up when they came near. The Doctor could hear a couple of the ninjas muttering angrily about her staying behind and calling her a coward and he quickly moved in front of her in case they got any ideas about killing her for her cowardice. Akira, sensing the ninja's mood, told them to get on their horses and go back up the mountain ahead of them. The ninjas glowered at Donna as they moved past her but Donna gave them a defiant look and backed away when they got on their horses and headed back towards the mountain.

"I'm not popular anymore," Donna said dryly as she watched the ninjas ride off.

"Don't worry about it. If they try anything, they'll answer to me," the Doctor said.

"So you managed to capture one?" Donna said, looking at the unconscious ninja.

"Yes. Hopefully he'll talk before this lot start carving him up," the Doctor said, grabbing the reins and tying him to the pommel of his horse's saddle.

"You don't approve of killing them?" Rose said, tying the reins of the other horse to her pommel.

"Not if I can help it. I believe there are better ways besides killing someone. Killing someone, to me, is always a last resort."

He noticed Rose was thinking that over and it pleased him. He hoped that perhaps he could influence her the same way he influenced Jenny and show her that you don't always have to kill someone on sight. For the moment though, he was glad the battle was over. He waited till Akira moved past him and then he, Rose and Donna followed him with the captured samurai and horses back towards the mountain path.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"This is so much easier than walking," Donna said as they rode up the mountain.

"She complains a lot, doesn't she?" Rose said to the Doctor.

The Doctor snickered and looked over his shoulder, seeing Donna's incensed look.

"She does but you get used to it," the Doctor said to Rose.

Rose looked over her shoulder at Donna. "If you wish, I could teach you a couple of things so you can help out."

"Train me to fight like you?" Donna said.

"Well, I can teach you a few things. To be able to fight like me, it takes years of training," Rose said.

"I'd take her up on her offer, Donna. You might be a Noble ninja warrior someday," the Doctor said.

"Yeah, that's hilarious, that is," Donna said when the Doctor snickered.

"Um…I hope you realize our friend is waking up now," Donna said, pointing to the samurai.

The Doctor looked back and noticed the samurai was now moving his head and groaning. He stopped his horse, slid off it and walked back to him. He pinched a nerve in his neck and sent him back into unconsciousness.

"What'd you do?" Rose said while everyone else watched him walk back to his horse.

"Nerve pinch to render him unconscious," the Doctor said, getting back on.

"You know about pressure points then?" Rose said, excited.

"Oh yeah, I was trained in the use of pressure points among other things," the Doctor said as they urged their horses on.

Rose and Akira shared a look.

"You're unusual," Akira said to the Doctor. "Most Englishmen do not know about pressure points."

"I'm not like the Englishmen," the Doctor said. "I've been trained by several masters in pressure points, chakra healing, acupuncture and other Eastern philosophies and techniques."

"What about you?" Rose asked Donna.

Donna gave her a blank stare.

"I know how to put a plaster on a cut," she said while the Doctor sniggered.

"I know I look like an idiot but I've only been traveling with him for a year and what I know is a drop in the bucket to what he knows."

"Although she briefly know what I knew but she lost that knowledge so I reign supreme once more," the Doctor said before giving Donna a wink.

Donna tried to be annoyed with him but had to chuckle at her friend's teasing. As they neared the top of the mountain, they could see several ninjas watching them as well as the two lookouts with the telescope. The ninjas standing on the trail were wearing kimonos and had their faces uncovered. When they reached the top, they told them that Toshi wished to see them and pointed to his house. They rode towards it and Donna noticed that several people were giving her dirty looks as she rode past them.

"I see news travels fast here," she muttered as she hurried past their scowling faces. "One wrong decision and already I'm the village pariah."

They reached Toshi's house and got down from the horses. Toshi slid open the door and stepped out onto his porch, giving the samurai a curious look.

"They said you captured one," he said, pointing to the samurai.

"Yes. I thought we could try to get some information from him," the Doctor said.

He and Donna bowed at the waist when Rose and Akira paid their respects. Toshi nodded his head and invited them all inside after he called for several ninja to tie up the samurai and put him and the war horses somewhere for safekeeping.

"Come, I have some tea ready," Toshi said, heading back inside.

Everyone followed him inside. The house was sparsely furnished, similar to the guest house the Doctor and Donna were using. There were a few bamboo scrolls hanging on the walls, mostly of battle scenes. In the main room, there were several pillows on the floor and Toshi told them to sit while he went into the other room. He came back several minutes later, carrying a tray. On the tray were ceramic teacups filled with tea. He put it down in the midst of his visitors and they took the cups while he settled himself down on his pillow.

"I have heard rumors that you did not participate in the battle," he said to Donna.

Donna sighed.

"I'm not trained like you are, alright? There's no way I could have gone through the trees and I'm not trained in the use of samurai swords. I would have been cut to ribbons so I made the decision to stay with the horses. I'm sorry."

"And what about you? What did you do?" Toshi said to the Doctor.

He explained his role in the battle and Rose confirmed it. Toshi, Akira and Donna were all impressed when he finished.

"I cannot fault you for not knowing our ways," Toshi said to Donna.

"After all, you are English and most English do not fight the way we do. You, however, seem to possess such knowledge," he said to the Doctor.

"Toshi-sama, Doctor-sama comes from another world. Donna-san does not," Rose said.

Toshi and Akira shared a look.

"You are from the stars?" Toshi said.

"Yes. I'm from a world far from here."

"But you claim not to be kami?" Toshi said.

"I'm not a kami. I'm a man, just a different sort of man than a human," the Doctor said. "I frequently select people to travel with me through time and space and most of those people have been from Earth. That's why Donna is English and I'm not."

"And what are you?" Toshi asked. "You look human."

"I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey."

"Indeed," Toshi said with interest.

"Well, if you are willing to ally yourselves with us, you are welcome to stay here and move freely among us. I will make an announcement and tell the village that you are not to be harmed."

"I'm honored," the Doctor said.

"And so am I," Donna added.

"The honor is ours. We have read tales from long ago of star people coming down to visit humans. It is nice to know that some of the tales were true."

"I would like to make a request, if I may? I would like to interrogate the samurai when he wakes up."

"If that is your desire, I will allow it."

"Thank you, Toshi-sama," the Doctor said.

"You are most welcome. And now…let us relax and drink our tea and talk of trivial things. We can discuss more weighty matters later," Toshi said.

The Doctor nodded and he and Donna made small talk with their new friends while they sipped their tea.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

When they finished their tea, Toshi told the Donna that she could have the guest house next to the Doctor's so she could have some privacy. Donna thanked him and everyone left. Rose walked towards her house while Akira walked with Donna and pointed out the house assigned to her. It was slightly smaller than the one given the Doctor and Donna wondered if that was because the Japanese thought he was more important than she was. She figured in the end it didn't really matter as long as she was out of the elements. She slid open the front door and went inside.

Meanwhile, the Doctor was taking off his ninja dogi and changing back into his regular clothes, save for the tabi socks which he found to be comfortable. He noticed Donna's kimono was on the floor of his bedroom and he made a mental note to return it to her after he was finished dressing. While he finished putting on his jacket, he heard a soft knocking at the front door and Rose calling to him. He folded up his trench coat, put it by the cupboard door and walked out of the room.

When he slid open the door, Rose was standing by the bottom step, holding two wooden staffs in her hands.

"I'm going to go exercise; do you still want to have the match?"

"Yes, just finished putting my clothes on. Wait a tic, I have Donna's kimono in here. Be right back."

He walked back to the bedroom, picked up the kimono, slung it over his arm and walked back to the door. When he came outside and closed the door, Rose gave his outfit a once over and a dubious look crossed her face.

"You want to exercise in that?" she said, pointing to his suit.

"Oh yes, it's quite comfy. I'm used to wearing this so I'll be okay."

Rose nodded. She walked with him over to Donna's house. The Doctor rapped on the wood beside the door and called Donna's name. The door slid open and Donna peeked out.

"This was left in my bedroom," the Doctor said, pointing to the kimono over his arm. "I'm going to go have my match with Rose and I wanted to return it to you before I forgot."

"You're going now?" Donna said.

"To exercise? Yes, we are."

"Wait a tic then. This I gotta see," Donna said, taking the kimono from him.

"Slight delay," the Doctor said to Rose as he stepped off the porch.

Rose handed him one of the wooden staffs. The Doctor grinned, stepped back and did a series of elaborate spins and thrusts with it. Rose watched him, impressed, as he did a few kicks and roundhouse kicks.

"Perhaps I was wrong, you might be a match for me," Rose said when he finished.

"Yes. But we are trained in two different disciplines. You're trained in ninjitsu and I'm trained in karate, kung fu and Venusian Aikido."

The door slid open and Donna stepped out, wearing the kimono and tabi socks. She gave the Doctor a wry look when he thrust the staff at her head and let out a loud "K'yah!"

"Don't think about it unless you want me to grab that branch and knock your teeth out," she said, closing the door and stepping down off the porch.

She walked with the Doctor while they followed Rose to an open area in between three of the houses. The area had been smoothed out and there were four poles in the ground to mark out the four sides of the sparring area. Donna stopped and stood near one of the poles, folding her arms over her chest while she watched them. The Doctor noticed two women sitting on the porch of one of the houses. The two young women stopped talking and watched them with curiosity while Rose walked several paces away from the Doctor. She turned, faced him and held her staff in front of her body. The Doctor held his staff loosely in one hand and spread his legs apart, tensing his muscles.

"Are you attacker or defender?" Rose asked.

"Um…I'll be the defender," the Doctor said.

Rose nodded. She tensed her body and let out a yell as she lunged at the Doctor. She tried to bring her staff down on his head but the Doctor blocked the move and used his staff to push hers away. Donna noticed that one of the women on the porch was running inside the house and she figured that a crowd would soon form since the other woman was coming towards the sparring area to watch them. Sure enough, the yells and whacks of the staffs brought more and more people and there was soon a small crowd watching Rose and the Doctor's sparring match. After twenty minutes, they stopped to catch their breath. Rose had broken out in a sweat but the Doctor wasn't even winded which impressed her.

"You're quite a fighter," Rose said.

"As are you," the Doctor said.

He smiled his thanks to a young woman when she handed him a wooden ladle filled with water. He drank half of it and handed the ladle to Rose who drank the rest. Rose noticed Donna standing there and beckoned to her. Donna walked over and Rose asked the Doctor to give his staff to Donna. He did and stepped back, watching with interest while Rose instructed Donna on a few basic moves with the staff. The Doctor walked over to one of the poles and leaned against it slightly while he watched Rose teach Donna how to block a downward strike with the staff. By now, most of the crowd started to drift away, lured by the scent of fresh cooked meals now that the sun had almost set behind the mountain. Rose worked with Donna on blocking and striking until it was almost two dark to see and then they stopped. Donna handed the staff back to her and thanked her.

"I'll see if Toshi-sama has something for you to eat," Rose said as she walked away. "If he does, I'll bring it to your houses."

The Doctor waved and he and Donna turned and headed for the guest houses.

"Not bad, little warrior woman," he said to Donna as they walked.

"Thanks. I can handle a wooden stick. I'm not so sure about a sword," she said.

"Nah, you can do it. It just takes time and practice."

"I notice the villagers have warmed to us," Donna said.

"I think they needed time to adjust and realize we weren't a threat," the Doctor said.

"D'ya think they'll let you talk to that samurai?"

"Toshi says I can and it seems like his word is law," the Doctor said. "Interrogating him won't be the tricky part. Convincing this lot not to torture or execute him will be the real challenge."

"Good luck with that," Donna said. "This lot doesn't seem the question and let them go type."

"I know," the Doctor said darkly. "I already watch Rose stab one of them in the neck."

"Doctor, she's not your Rose," Donna said gently. "She wasn't brought up in a flat in a council estate. Here, it's kill or be killed, even I can see that. She's doing what she's been trained to do."

"Yes, but I got through to Jenny. I'm hoping I can do the same with her. At least show her that there are alternatives to killing."

"Good luck with that," Donna said. "I have a feeling they don't take samurai as prisoners."

"Yes, I know. But we need to know what these samurai want with them. Samurais mainly killed them because they were employed as spies and assassins and there was always a threat to the daimyo. It's not unusual for the samurai to be out here hunting them down but you never know, there may be an ulterior motive and if there is, I want to find it out."

They stopped in front of Donna's house and the Doctor bid her good evening before heading to his house. He walked inside his house and slid the door closed. The house was dark, the fire in the central fire pit was unlit and the Doctor looked around the house. He found a small paper lantern in the back room and lit the wick with his screwdriver. He set the lantern down by the pit and went to look for something that would help him transfer the flame from the lantern down to the wood in the pit. While he was doing that, he heard a knock on the door and went to answer it. He slid open the door and smiled at Rose. She had a small iron cauldron in one hand and a flaming torch in the other.

"I have supper for you," she said, "and I can light your fire?"

"Come on," the Doctor said. "I was just looking for something that I could use to start a fire."

The Doctor took the cauldron from her and sniffed it, smelling beef stew. Rose walked over to the fire pit, sat down and lit the fire with the torch. Once it was lit, she took the flaming torch into the Doctor's bedroom and put it in an iron holder mounted on the wall.

"I've already given Donna her food and she told me she couldn't light her fire," Rose said, coming into the main room. "I went back to get a torch and your food. I thought you might have the same problem with lighting your fire."

"Thank you," the Doctor said, putting the lantern on a small table in the corner.

Rose bowed and was about to bid him goodnight when the Doctor stopped her.

"Please, share my meal and chat awhile?" he said.

"Are you sure I won't be a bother?" Rose said.

"Nah. Come and sit awhile and let's get to know each other better," the Doctor said. "Tell me about this dream of yours, eh?"

Rose hesitated a moment before she walked into the back room. She returned a few minutes later with two iron spoons. She handed one to the Doctor and the Doctor smiled and gestured for her to sit with him.

"So…" the Doctor said when she sat down beside him, "tell me about this dream."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Rose was at a loss for words. It was one thing to dream about a mysterious stranger but to tell the dream to the stranger was a bit stranger…not to mention nerve-wracking. She felt a bit embarrassed about the dream since she and Toshi had misinterpreted it. However, she was still curious to find out why the man before her had glowed with such a blinding radiance and the thought that the man might be able to explain what the dream meant outweighed any embarrassment she might have so she told him what she had seen while they shared the beef stew.

As she talked, she stared at the Doctor. The sun had now set and the only light was the light from the fire and the lantern. Rose was struck by how handsome the Doctor looked in the firelight and how the light from the lantern on the table glowed in his deep brown eyes.

She had never had any feelings for any of the ninjas in her village, mainly because none of the ninjas wanted to have a gaijin for a lover. The only love she had ever felt was a daughter's love for Toshi, all other feelings of love and affection she buried deep down in her heart. But as she stared at the Doctor and his face glowing in the lantern light, she suddenly felt the first stirrings of affection for him. Was that what the dream was pointing to? That this man was the stars was the one she was destined to be with?

She finished telling the Doctor about the dream and silence fell over the room. The only sound was the crackling of the fire in the pit and Rose suddenly felt a bit uneasy when the Doctor said nothing and just gazed at her, a gaze that held the same unspoken authority she felt in the dream. She suddenly had a desire to lean forward and kiss him, a desire she quickly shoved out of her mind.

"Have you ever met anyone like me?" the Doctor finally said.

Rose blinked, his voice breaking the spell of his gaze. Even then, it took a moment for her to collect her thoughts. She shook her head.

"No, I've never met anyone like you before," she said.

"I find it interesting that you had a dream about me when you never met me. The reason I find that interesting is because I've met you before."

"Where?" Rose said, shocked.

The Doctor gave her a half smile.

"There's more to my story. You see, I not only come from another world, I come from another universe."

Rose gave him a confused look and he chuckled.

"There are thousands, perhaps millions of universes, all lying beside each other. Most of those universes have similarities but there are also huge differences as well. Do you understand?"

"Not completely," Rose said.

"It's complicated, I realize, for someone who isn't living in a technologically advanced society. But I don't come from this universe; I'm from a universe that's similar to it."

Rose nodded, still not completely understanding but she felt like she was getting the gist of what the Doctor was saying.

"In that universe that I came from, I knew a Rose Tyler," the Doctor said. "She was your double but unlike you, she was born about 470 years after you were and she was fromEngland. However, in my reality, she never came toJapanand was taken by ninjas. She grew up inEnglandand I met her there when she was 19 years old."

"Did she look like me?"

"Oh yes, exactly like you," the Doctor said. "And she was brave like you are, although she wasn't quite as trained as you were. Still, she could hold her own in a fight."

"Where is she?" Rose said, curious about this other her.

The Doctor chuckled and Rose smiled, liking the sound of his laughter. He looked at her and Rose felt like she would drown in his firelit eyes.

"Well, she's in yet another universe from mine and yours with a double of me," he said. "Again, it's very complicated."

"She traveled with you, like Donna?"

"Oh yes," the Doctor murmured, his eyes seeing past her for a moment into his memories, "she traveled with me for some time."

His eyes focused back on her and Rose felt her heart leap.

"My Rose and I…we were together," he said, gazing at her.

Rose felt her heart leap into her throat.

"Together? Lovers?" she said.

The Doctor nodded.

"Yes," he said wistfully, losing himself in the memories again for a moment.

Rose thought about her dream. This man loved her but she was not her but the Doctor in the dream told her to come with him and opened his arms to receive her. The Doctor said that his Rose had gone. Was she meant to take her place?

"What are you thinking?" the Doctor said softly.

"About the dream," Rose said. "Now that I've heard your story, I'm even more confused about what it means."

"Yes," the Doctor said. "I never put much stock in dreams. But the fact that you dreamed about me when you've never met me before…it can't be just a coincidence. How long ago did you have this dream?"

"I dream it all the time. I know it by heart by now. I told Toshi about it and he's the one that suggested you were a kami since you came from the stars."

"I think that's symbolic though. I do come from the stars from your point of view as well as travel the stars."

"But what does the bright light mean?"

"That I don't know. I don't glow like that and never have. Well, actually I did once but it was a blue glow and I flew across the room but that's a story for another day."

"And you told me to come with you," Rose pointed out.

The Doctor chuckled and Rose felt her heart leap again.

"Well, I told the other Rose to come with me," he said. "I invite people to travel with me and see time and space. That's why Donna's with me right now."

"Should I come with you then?"

The Doctor gazed at her without saying anything and Rose suddenly felt that aura of power and authority again.

"Do you want to?" the Doctor finally said.

"Is it dangerous?"

"Extremely. But a ninja like you laughs at danger, eh?"

"Will I get burned?"

The Doctor frowned.

"Burned?"

"You glowed after you told me to come with you and I held you and the light surrounded me."

"And did the dream indicate you got burned?" the Doctor said.

"I don't know. I don't think so. I just saw the light come over me. I usually woke up then."

"It is dangerous, I won't lie. And some people do end up getting injured and killed when they travel with me. I fight evil and injustice and I try to protect my friends but there are times when I fail and they end up getting burned….in a symbolic sort of way."

"And did your Rose get…burned?"

She flinched when she saw the pain in his eyes and she quickly stood up.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," she babbled as she started to back away. "It was rude of me to ask that. I'll go now."

She started towards the door and was shocked when the Doctor was up and in front of her before she could take two steps.

"No, please. You've done nothing wrong. Please don't go," he said.

Rose looked into his eyes and was shocked by the tenderness she saw there. Without thinking, she raised her hand to his cheek and laid it there. She was even more shocked when he didn't bat her hand away or get a look of disgust on his face. She only saw longing and desire in his eyes and her heart raced.

"I'm very sorry," Rose said. "I offended you."

The Doctor gave her a sad smile and Rose was shocked again when he pulled her into an embrace. Rose wrapped her arms around him and listened to his breathing while he held her. She smiled to herself when she realized that she wasn't getting burned by his embrace and she suddenly realized that perhaps the dream was an omen of good things to come.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

(Osaka Castle, Osaka…)

"Enter," Tokugawa Ieyasu said when he heard someone knocking at the door of his throne room.

The door opened and his advisor, Yoshi, entered crouching and duck walking. The man slid closed the paper window door and prostrated himself on the ground in front of the shogun.

"Rise and approach," Ieyasu said in a bored tone of voice.

Yoshi stood up and approached Ieyasu. Yoshi was in his mid-thirties with a slightly lined face and a partially shaved head with a top knot in the back. He was dressed in a dark blue kimono with a white under kimono and white tabi socks.

"Your Excellency, I regret to inform you that the expedition to destroy the ninja stronghold at Iga has gone badly. Nearly all the samurai were killed, except for Hattori. He was taken prisoner.

Ieyasu breathed angrily. Since becoming shogun, he had set out to unifyJapanwith the help of the English traders. He had recently captured Osaka Castle and made it his new headquarters and with Iga only 80 kilometers away from him, he had made it a point to exterminate all the ninjas living in the Iga Mountains before his rivals used them as spies and assassins. He had sent several of his best warriors, confident that they could clean out the nest of vermin but apparently, he had underestimated the ninjas. Even more galling, Hattori had been his favorite, a strong, capable warrior who would die to protect him. Ieyasu rose from his wooden throne and Yoshi backed away, wondering if the shogun was going to decapitate him for this. Instead he began to pace back and forth in front of him, much to Yoshi's relief.

"Is there no good news to report?" he said to Yoshi when he paused for a moment.

"There was a scouting party nearby, Your Excellency. They're the ones that found the bodies and they also found something else. A strange, blue box near the forest. They brought it back to the castle in a wagon so you could examine it."

"What would I want with a blue box?" Ieyasu said.

"Excellency, it's not like anything we've seen before. Some of the scouts wondered if it might be a lookout post or perhaps even a weapon. We've tried to open the doors but so far there has been no success."

"Doors? It has doors?" Ieyasu said.

"Yes, Excellency. It has doors on the front of it. A light on top and there is some foreign writing on the door and above it. We think it's the Englishmen's writing."

That gave Ieyasu pause.

"If it belongs to the English then perhaps they've decided to betray me and ally themselves with the ninja?"

"I don't know, Excellency. Perhaps so," Yoshi said delicately.

"Perhaps you're right. I must examine this box and determine its purpose. In the meantime, put it in the storage room and posts guards at the door. No one must get hold of it, especially not the ninjas."

"It is done, Excellency," Yoshi said with a bow.

Ieyasu dismissed him and sat back down. He watched Yoshi leave, his mind whirling with the possibility that the gaijin were betraying him and making plans to attack him with the help of the ninja.

XOXOXOXOXO

"Doctor?" Donna said, sliding open the front door of his house and peeking inside.

It was dawn and Donna was woken by Akira who had news for her. Donna promised to go get the Doctor and she had been knocking at his front door for five minutes before she finally slid open the door and looked inside.

The house was dark and quiet. The fire in the pit had burned down to embers and she could smell the remnants of the smoke from it as she stepped inside. She slid the door shut and tiptoed across the room to the bedroom.

"Doctor?" she said softly as she slid open the door.

She was taken aback when she looked inside the bedroom and saw the Doctor fast asleep, lying on his futon with Rose asleep in his embrace as she lay on her futon. She tiptoed inside and stopped. She noticed both of them were fully dressed under the thin cotton blanket. She smiled as she gazed at them.

"I guess this means Rose is coming with us, eh?" she muttered to herself.

She gingerly walked over to the Doctor and gently shook him. She pulled her hand back when the Doctor's eyes snapped open and her jerked his head around. He relaxed when he saw her.

"Hi," he said softly. "Morning, already?"

"It's dawn," Donna said. "Akira woke me. They're going to interrogate the samurai. He's at the bottom of the mountain tied to one of the posts they had us tied to. Toshi wanted you to know since you wanted to speak with him."

The Doctor nodded. Donna stepped back while the Doctor spoke Rose's name. Rose opened her eyes and smiled at him. Then she saw Donna and Donna gasped when she suddenly jerked away from the Doctor.

"We did nothing!" Rose said to Donna, panicked.

"Rose, it's fine," the Doctor said, grabbing her hand. "We talked late into the night and she slept with me, that's all," he said to Donna.

"Hey, it's none of my business what the two of you do in here," Donna said. "I'm just telling you that the samurai is waiting to be interrogated down the mountain."

"We'll be out in a moment. Give us time to wake up and get ready."

Donna nodded. She walked out of the room. Rose watched her go and when she slid the bedroom door shut behind her, she looked at the Doctor.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have stayed," she whispered to the Doctor. "I didn't want to upset Donna."

"What makes you think she'd be upset?" the Doctor said softly.

"She's your woman, isn't she?"

The Doctor chuckled.

"Donna? Nah, we're just best mates, she and I."

"Oh…OH!" Rose said, comprehension dawning. "Then you didn't find another woman to love after your Rose left?"

"No. Donna's a friend, nothing more. She doesn't mind you being in here and even if she did, she has no say in the matter."

Rose nodded. She stood up.

"You need to put your hood on at least," she said to him. "Everyone does when they're interrogating someone. In case they escape and try to identify you to someone."

The Doctor nodded. He and Rose put the blanket and their futons away and the Doctor grabbed the hood he used the day before. He tied it on and adjusted it. Rose told him she'd be back since she had to fetch her hood and some of the horses. As she turned to leave, the Doctor grabbed her hand. Rose's heart raced when he pulled her into another embrace.

"Don't ever feel guilty about being here with me," he said to her. "I want you here. I enjoy your company and sod anyone who has a problem with that."

Rose nodded. The Doctor hugged her tighter for a moment and then let her go. Feeling warm all over from the embrace, Rose forced herself to leave the house, running all the way to her own house so she would hurry back to the man she had fallen in love with.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

The Doctor stepped outside his house. Rose was standing there with Donna. She was holding the reins to the horse the samurai owned while Donna held the reins to her and Rose's horses.

"You captured this horse, do you want it?" Rose said to him as she gestured to the war horse.

"Take the horse?" the Doctor said, slipping his sandals on before he went down the steps.

"Yes. You won it in battle," Rose said.

"No, we're not taking a horse into the TARDIS," Donna said.

"Why not? Arthur won't take up much room," the Doctor said, going up to the horse and rubbing his nose.

"Arthur?" Donna said. "You've named it already?"

"Good name for a horse," the Doctor said.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Donna said as the Doctor got on Arthur.

Rose got on her horse and Donna did the same. The Doctor and Donna followed Rose while she headed for the trail that led down to the open area.

"You are not keeping the horse," Donna said as they followed Rose.

"Who says? I won Arthur, I get to keep him," the Doctor said haughtily. "My TARDIS, my horse!"

"Yeah? Well, I'm not cleaning up the shite," Donna replied.

The Doctor ignored that as he spurred his horse on and caught up with Rose.

"Once this is finished, I need to go check on my TARDIS and make sure it's functional," he said to her.

"Your…time machine?" Rose said.

"Yes. I'm in the wrong universe and I may need to give her a bit of a jump start. I did that the first time I got stuck in another universe," the Doctor said. "If we're gonna leave here, I gotta make sure she can make the trip."

He held back when they reached the narrow trail and fell in line behind Rose as the three of them went down the trail. Up ahead, the Doctor could see Akira and Toshi near the bottom. Both of them were walking. And he could see the samurai tied to the post. He was in the midst of the rest of the villagers who were screaming taunts at him while he screamed back at them. To his horror, he noticed a man standing by the post holding a katana and menacing the captive with it.

"Um…they're not gonna torture him, are they?" he asked Rose.

"Yes, most likely," Rose said, looking over her shoulder.

"Rose, if we're gonna get any information out of him, it has to be done without torture," the Doctor said. "If you torture him, he may tell you anything to make the pain stop."

"Samurai are taught to endure pain, same as ninja," Rose said.

"Then he might shut up and not talk at all. I know this is your culture but I don't believe in causing people unnecessary pain, not when there are better solutions. Please…can you talk to your people and get them to back…"

They heard a howling and the Doctor jerked his head down and to his horror, he saw that the ninja has sliced one of the samurai's hands off. He urged his horse around Rose's and rode Arthur hell for leather down the trail, screaming at the ninja to stop. The crowd turned and looked at him while Rose and Donna continued downward.

"He'll end up dead," Rose said distressed. "He can't just tell these people what to do? They want the samurai dead!"

"Oh, he'll make em listen," Donna said. "He has the authority to get people to listen to him."

"Yes, I believe that," Rose said, remembering sensing that aura of authority last night.

They picked up speed and rode down the trail while the Doctor rode up to the platform, got off Arthur, ran up onto the platform and jerked the sword out of the stunned ninja's hands.

"I think you've done enough," the Doctor growled at the terrified man.

The man backed away while Akira and Toshi climbed up onto the stage.

"What's going on?" Akira said to the Doctor.

"Look. I know you hate this man and I don't blame you. But chopping him to pieces won't solve anything. We need to find out what they were doing in the woods and he can't talk while he's screaming."

Toshi calmed the angry crowd down while the Doctor walked over to the samurai. The samurai recoiled from him and tried to hit him with his bloody stump. The Doctor caught his arm and jerked it to get the samurai to stop fighting.

"Look, I'm trying to help. If you resist, they'll keep on with the cutting," he said to the samurai.

"I would rather die than submit to you vermin!" the samurai growled.

"What's your name?" the Doctor said while Toshi and Akira came up behind him.

"Why should I tell you?" the samurai said.

"Because I'm trying to help you," the Doctor said. "See these people? They're baying for your blood and I'm sure you want to live, even though you're putting on a show of bravado. I'm the only one who's standing between you and them so do the smart thing and talk to me."

"Why should I? You are English. Why are you with these scum?" the samurai said.

"Because these people have been friendly to me and my friend and I don't want to see them killed for no good reason!"

"They threaten the shogun!" the samurai said.

"Oh? And who is the shogun?"

The samurai gave him a stunned look.

"You don't know who the shogun is?" he said.

"I'm incredibly thick and I need to be told everything," the Doctor said quickly. "Now…who is the shogun?"

"Tokugawa Ieyasu."

"Ah! Yes, the first shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty that lasted until the Meiji period in 1868."

"Huh?" the samurai said.

"Never mind him, he's just showing off his big brain."

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder when he heard Donna speak. She and Rose were behind him and both women came up beside him. The samurai stared at them.

"Three Englishmen? Is this an alliance?" he said to the Doctor.

"Yes and no, it's an alliance between them and me and Donna here. Rose has lived with these people since she was a baby. And I'm the Doctor, by the way. And you are…"

The samurai hesitated for a moment and then he saw the Doctor's eyes and could see he meant business.

"Hattori," the samurai said.

"Thank you, Hattori. I like knowing people's names. And now…"

Everyone gasped when the Doctor removed his hood and exposed his face.

"You're showing him who you are?" Rose said.

"I need something to bind up the wound and stop the bleeding. Unlike the rest of the ninjas, I don't want him bleeding to death in front of me."

Hattori was stunned when the Doctor started wrapping his hood around the bloody stump. Donna helped him and Rose hesitated a moment before she also assisted him. While they worked, Toshi watched, a small smile on his face. Akira noticed the smile.

"Sensei? Why are you smiling?" he said to him.

"It's rare to find a man with such mercy nowadays," Toshi said. "I believe that is one of the reasons he has such power inside him."

"There," the Doctor said when they finished binding the wound.

Hattori stared at the cloth around the end of his arm.

"You wish me to live?" he said.

"Yes. I don't approve of killing except as a last resort and I certainly don't approve of torture. Now…sadly, it seems as if your career as a samurai has come to an end since I doubt Ieyasu will employ a man with one hand. Unless you become a ronin, you're out of a job so there is no danger in talking to us."

"If I talk, they kill me," Hattori said, nodding his head towards the crowd.

"Not while I'm here," the Doctor said.

Hattori saw the determination on the Doctor's face.

"And they'll have to get through me to get to you," Donna said.

"And me," Rose said.

"And me."

The Doctor looked over his shoulder and smiled when Akira came up behind him with Toshi.

"Thank you," the Doctor said.

Toshi walked around everyone and faced Hattori.

"The Doctor has been more merciful than anyone else would have been. I suggest you listen to him and do what he says," Toshi said to Hattori. "He is not from our world and he carries much authority with him, even though he is not that old."

"Oh, you'd be surprised how old I really am," the Doctor said. "And you," he said to Hattori, "you're young as well. How old are you?"

Hattori hesitated a moment.

"17 winters," he finally said.

"Far too young to lose your hand and to lose your life," the Doctor said. "All the prestige of being a samurai isn't worth it if you end up dead."

"So I become a ninja?" Hattori said in disgust.

"No. You choose your own path in life but I'm pretty sure you won't be a samurai from here on out," he said, pointing to the stump. "You accused these people of being murdering dogs, yet you were prepared to murder them in cold blood. So how do you justify being right when you are doing the same things you accuse them of doing?"

Hattori fell silent while he thought that over.

"Samurais fight nobly and face their foes in battle, they do not hide and ambush people like dogs," he said.

"Perhaps, but again…how are you any better than them when you murder and torture people like they do?"

"That is the way of the samurai," Hattori said weakly.

"And is it not the way of the ninja as well? You're all trained to kill. The only difference is in your philosophy and methods of killing. So when you kill a peasant child or a woman, how are you any better than they are?" he said, gesturing to the crowd.

Hattori stared at the angry eyes framed in the hoods of the crowd before him while he considered that.

"I was trained to kill," he said weakly to the Doctor.

"Yes, I get that. From childhood you were trained to kill but you're an adult now and you have a choice in the way you live your life. These people that are attacking the village are killing people without provocation. These people aren't doing anything except living their lives."

"But they are spies and assassins."

"And? Did Ieyasu ever hire ninjas to do just that?"

Hattori hesitated a moment and then nodded.

"He hired ninjas to do his dirty work and now that they're a threat, he's going after them? Is that why you lot came to the forest to find them?"

Hattori nodded.

"Don't you find it a bit bizarre that he would use the very people he's trying to kill to spy on and kill others. Isn't that a bit hypocritical? Is this the man you'd really like to die for, mate? Because I wouldn't."

Rose listened to the Doctor in silent awe and looked at Akira and Toshi who were also impressed with him. As she listened to him convincing Hattori to give up information without torturing him, she began to wonder if a kami wasn't inhabiting his body and giving him power because she had to admit, she had never known anyone like the Doctor and she felt thankful that accident or not, the Doctor found her just like in her dream.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"Sensei?" Rose said as she stepped into Toshi's house.

It was nearly noon and the crowds had dispersed. The Doctor promised to take Hattori into his care after his wound had been cauterized with a heated sword and Toshi agreed to his offer to look after him and be responsible for him. After that, he took Hattori with him up to his house. Rose had gone to her house and had changed into a red kimono with a red under kimono. She had rested for awhile until just before noon when she came over to her father's house to see if he had some food prepared for the Doctor and Donna.

"In here, Rose-chan," Toshi called to her from the kitchen.

Rose took off her sandals and stepped into the house.

"I came to ask if you have some food ready for Doctor-sama and Donna-san?" she called to him.

"Just one moment, my child. I'm finishing it up."

Rose sat down beside the fire pit on one of Toshi's pillows.

"Sensei, I think Doctor-sama is going to check on his time machine and make sure it still works. I want to go with him and Donna-san," she called to him. "He told me he wanted to do that earlier."

Toshi came out carrying a wicker tray. On it were two small clay plates and two small clay bowls and two small clay cups. The plates had an assortment of sushi on them and the bowls held white rice and the cups had hot tea. Beside the bowls were two pairs of chopsticks. Rose bowed her head as Toshi handed her the tray.

"So, my child, you have lost your fear of this…kami?" he said with a twinkle in his eyes as he settled down beside her.

"Yes. We talked and he's nothing to be afraid of. In fact, Sensei, I admire him very much."

"As do I," Toshi said. "I know some of the villagers wonder at his strange ways but he carries much power with him. And he is capable of much mercy. The samurai would have been chopped to pieces if he had not intervened."

"And you are alright with that?" Rose said.

"I agree that this samurai is a young man, not a battle hardened killer. There are some samurai who are monsters, who kill without thought or mercy. I don't think this man is one of them. Sometimes a person's heart can be changed if you catch them at the right age. Perhaps this Doctor can be an influence on him."

Rose nodded.

"It seems as if he can influence anyone to do anything," she said.

Toshi chuckled.

"Yes, indeed. That is part of his power but I can see a great sadness upon him. He carriers it around him like a cloak."

Rose nodded in agreement. She frowned when she saw Toshi starting at her pointedly.

"Sensei?" she said, confused. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You love him, do you not? I've noticed the way you look at him," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

He chuckled when Rose blushed at that and patted her on the shoulder.

"Perhaps you and he would make a good match, my daughter," he said.

"He wants me to go with him, Sensei, away to the stars."

"As your dream foretold?"

Rose nodded.

"Rose-chan, I love you like you were my own flesh and blood but you were never meant to stay here your entire life. You were meant for something more than an old village in the mountains. This man offers you a life of adventure beyond anything you've ever known. I'd take him up on his offer if I were you."

"Wouldn't you miss me?"

"I would," Toshi said, patting her cheek, "but loss is a part of life. I can't be selfish when something greater than this lies in your future. I love you, my daughter, but I believe now your dream was a sign that you have come to a fork in the road and it's time to get off the road you're on now and follow the road he walks. Don't you agree?"

Rose nodded and Toshi patted her hand.

"Go on now and take their food to them. I slaved for a couple of hours making all that and I would be very angry if it got cold before they ate it."

Rose laughed and Toshi patted her hand.

"So go and see what your lover is doing now," he teased with a wink of his eye.

He chuckled when Rose blushed at that and smiled fondly at her when she picked up the tray, bow with reverence to her father and carried it out of the house.

XOXOXOXOXO

"Doctor-sama?" Rose said as she slid open the front door of his house.

The Doctor looked at her and smiled. He was sitting with Hattori in front of the fire pit. He beckoned for her to come in and Rose took off her sandals, came inside and slid the door shut.

"I have food for you," she said as she carried the tray over. "Sushi and rice and tea."

"Ah, my favorite," the Doctor said as she sat it down in front of him. "Give my compliments to Toshi, he's an excellent cook."

"I'll talk to you later, Doctor-sama," she said.

"You don't have to leave. Hattori and I were just chatting. Sit down and make yourself at home," the Doctor said, pointing to pillow behind him.

Rose looked at Hattori and smiled politely. Hattori gave a polite nod and Rose sat down.

"Hattori has been telling me a bit about his life," the Doctor said. "It's very fascinating. He lost his parents at an early age, much like you did."

Rose looked at Hattori who nodded.

"Yes. My parents were eta who were killed by a samurai who had been offended by someone in my village. He killed half the people in the village in retribution and my parents were among the victims. I was sent to live with an uncle and schooled in the art of bushido."

"Eta? You were an undesirable?" Rose said.

She had heard tales of people who were shunned by society because they did work that involved death and working with the dead, a taboo in a Buddhist society. Some eta worked as grave diggers, corpse handlers, butchers, tanners and similar professions. They were viewed as unclean by most Japanese.

"Yes," Hattori said, "if my parents hadn't died, I would have stayed that way. My uncle hid my past and brought me up to serve the shogun. I was one of the best soldiers he had until your people took my hand," he said, holding up his wrapped stump.

"I'm sorry about that," Rose said, feeling sorry for the boy who was still a teenager.

"It wasn't you that cut it off. The Doctor was right. Had it been me I might have done the same to one of you," Hattori said. "I was brought up to believe that anyone less than samurai was to be looked down on and spat on. I realize now that I became like the samurai who slaughtered the people in my village and I don't want to be like that. Perhaps the loss of my hand was a sign from the gods that I was not meant to walk the bushido path any longer."

"I'm going to go and check on my TARDIS after I eat and Hattori wants to come with me and Donna. Would you like to come?" the Doctor said.

"Yes. I'd like to see your time machine," Rose said. "He told you about himself?"

"Yes. It seems strange but I believe what he says. He's not like other men, I can tell just by looking at him."

"Well, I'm one of a kind." the Doctor said with a wink. "I'm glad I have some company on the trip down the mountain. And I let Hattori have his horse back. It's a lovely gesture but Donna's right, I can't take care of him while I travel."

The Doctor offered some of his sushi to Hattori and Rose and the two of them ate with him while he polished off the rice and tea.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

After they ate, the Doctor went to fetch Donna and Rose went to get the horses. She came back a half hour later with three of the small horses and Hattori's stallion. Rose had changed into her ninja dogi and noticed Donna was dressed in her kimono.

"I'd change if I were you," she said, pointing to Donna's kimono. "It's hard to ride a horse while wearing a kimono."

Donna looked down at her kimono.

"Yeah, you got a point there. Excuse me," she said, hurrying back into her house.

Hattori was wearing black unamori pants Toshi gave to him and a white kimono. He grasped the pommel with his hand and hoisted himself up into his horse's saddle while the Doctor and Rose did the same. While they waited for Donna, they heard someone calling to them and turned to see Akira riding up to them.

"Wait, I want to go with you," Akira said, stopping by Rose's horse. "I told Toshi-sama I would guard you and I stand by my word."

"He's not a threat to us," the Doctor said, gesturing to Hattori.

"Perhaps but that's not what I meant," Akira said. "Toshi told me to accompany you and that's what I'm doing. I wasn't thinking of him when I said that," he added, pointing to Hattori.

"Okay. Sorry, I'm ready now," Donna said, coming out of her house. "Ugh, this whole no sandal in the house rule gets annoying when you keep going in and out of the house," she added, stopping to slip into her sandals.

She got onto her horse and followed everyone else when they turned towards the mountain trail that led down to the woods. It took about forty minutes to ride down the trail and through the woods. When they reached the other side, the Doctor slowed his horse down and looked around.

"Oh no, no, no, no," he said as he looked around for his TARDIS.

"What's the matter?" Akira said.

"It's gone, it's not here. Look!" the Doctor said, pointing to a flattened area of grass. "It was here and now it's gone. Oh no…Hattori, the samurai took it, didn't they?"

"They might have," Hattori said. "They had others who served as assistants for us and they had a wagon in case we had captives."

"And they put the TARDIS in the wagon," the Doctor said, his hearts sinking.

"Could they do that?" Rose said.

"Yes, it's not that hard for several muscular men to pick it up and put it on a wagon. Where would they have gone, Hattori?" he said, turning his horse to face him.

"Osaka Castle, about 80 kilometers from here," Hattori said, pointing off to his right.

"80 kilometers…" the Doctor mused as he stared off in the direction Hattori was pointing. "So…about half a day's journey perhaps?"

"You're going to Osaka Castle?" Akira said in disbelief. "That's where the shogun is."

"And the shogun has my TARDIS and I need it back," the Doctor said. "My ship is one of the most powerful things in the universe. I doubt if he or his men could open the doors, but still, I can't be without it. I have to go."

"Then I want to go with you," Rose said.

"So do I," Akira said.

"And me," Hattori said.

He noticed the suspicious look on Akira's face.

"I am useless to the samurai now," he said to Akira while he held up his stump. "This is a dishonorable fate for a samurai and it would be preferable for me to commit seppuku and end my humiliation. I like the Doctor and I wish to help him. If you think I will betray you all, I can't change that. I can only prove otherwise by my deeds…if the Doctor will give me a chance."

"Of course I will," the Doctor said. "If you're willing to help me, I welcome the help, same for everyone here. I believe in giving people second chances and until he betrays us, I suggest we trust him. Like he said, the samurai can't use him now in battle."

Akira nodded.

"I will give you a second chance then," he said. "I hope you won't waste it."

"I won't, believe me," Hattori said.

"We need to tell Toshi-sama we're leaving so they know where we're going," Rose said.

"Then let's hurry and get back up the mountain," the Doctor said.

He spurred his horse and everyone followed him as they rode back into the forest.

XOXOXOXOXO

"Doctor-sama?" Rose said, knocking on his door.

"Come in," the Doctor yelled.

Rose opened the door and came inside the front room. In her hand was a huge bundle of clothes.

"Akira and I told Toshi what we were doing. We also came up with a plan," Rose said as she put the bundle of clothes on the floor. "Ninjas are also trained to use disguises and we thought that you and me and Donna would dress as Englishmen while Akira and Hattori dressed as our servants. Some Englishmen use Japanese as servants and we thought if we did that, we wouldn't attract any notice."

"Good idea," the Doctor said.

"Hattori-san can wear what he's wearing now and Akira is dressing the same. These clothes are for you and Donna-san. I'm dressing as an Englishwoman and using their sidesaddles. I don't like the sidesaddle but I'll do it if it means we won't attract attention."

The Doctor picked up the men's clothes and made a face at them.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to wear my suit," he said to Rose. "The Japanese people probably won't know the difference between my outfit and the ones the Englishmen normally wear. As for Donna…"

He snickered when he picked up a heavy red satin dress with a skirt that reached down to the floor.

"I'm gonna get a giggle seeing Donna in this," he said, examining it.

XOXOXOXO

After Rose delivered the dress to Donna, she ran back to her house to change. The Doctor changed back into his suit and put on his trench coat. Hattori shook his head when he saw his outfit.

"You gaijin wear funny clothes," he said to the Doctor.

"I agree but I prefer this to the Japanese outfits, no offense," he said.

Hattori nodded and walked outside with his friend. The Doctor chuckled when he saw Donna wearing the dress with red satin slippers.

"This is rubbish, it feels like it weighs 10 stone on my body," she said as she stood by her horse.

"Sorry, Donna, gotta keep up appearances," the Doctor said airily.

"How am I s'posed to ride the horse dressed like this? I can't ride sidesaddle, I can barely ride front saddle," she said.

"Hattori, my friend, help me help her onto her horse," the Doctor said.

Hattori nodded and they gave Donna a boost. The Doctor giggled when she put her leg over the horse, sat down and her heavy skirt rode up until it looked like she was sitting in the middle of a small red island. Donna tried to tuck it in and smooth it down so it wasn't ballooning up around her and she glowered when the Doctor kept on giggling at the sight. Then he caught sight of Rose on her horse and his hearts stopped. She was dressed in a light pink dress with pink slippers and she was sitting side saddle, her head turned to her right side while she galloped towards them. She slowed down and stared at Donna who was still trying to smush down the voluminous skirt.

"You're not riding side saddle?" Rose asked her.

"No, I can't. I know if I do I'll fall on my arse so I'm being immodest and riding with my legs over the saddle."

Rose giggled and the Doctor laughed when she joined Donna in smushing down her dress. They finally got it down far enough that Donna didn't look like she was inside a ring of fabric and the Doctor and Hattori got on their horses.

"I brought some supplies," Rose said, pointing to a large pack and bedroll on the back of her horse. "And me and Akira can lead you to more supplies on the way to Osaka."

"Brilliant," the Doctor said.

Akira was the last one to show up. He also had a large pack and bedroll on the back of his horse. He had three other bedrolls and he passed them to the Doctor, Donna and Hattori. He showed them how to strap it on the back of the saddle and once they were done and they were ready, all of them headed back to the trail that led down to the forest.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

After they emerged from the forest, Akira took the lead when they turned right on a dirt path that led towards Osaka. While they rode, Hattori rode in between the Doctor and Akira and told them about the castle and what they would expect to find. Donna and Rose rode behind them, listening to him while he talked loudly. He was telling them about the castle being on a small island in the middle of the city and how there was a high stone wall under the actual castle.

"The Shogun's quarters is on the top floor," Hattori said. "You will have to cross the water, scale the wall and find a way to get inside the castle. Also the floors are nightingale floors so you have to find a way to get past that."

"Sorry, what'd ya mean by nightingale floors?" Donna said.

"Nightingale floors are designed to creak when you step on them. That way you know someone is walking on them," Rose said to her.

"Great, how do we get across them then?" Donna said.

Rose smirked.

"We have ways," she said.

When they neared a small wooden bridge over a stream, Akira pointed to the left and everyone followed him while he went off the trail. He led them to a small outcrop of rocks deep in the woods and they stopped their horses. He and Rose got down from the horses and moved one of the large rocks aside. Inside were weapons, packs and dogis.

"We put this here in case we need them," Akira said. "I'm hoping that Hattori-san is truly on our side so he won't tell anyone this is here"

"I just told you about the castle defenses and where Ieyasu stays inside it. Isn't that proof that I'm on your side?" Hattori said angrily.

"I'm just warning you," Akira said.

Hattori let out an angry gust of air from his mouth. He looked at the Doctor and asked him to get down off his horse. The Doctor complied and was taken aback when Hattori took his tanto from its scabbard and handed it to him.

"I'm endangering all of you by doing this since most samurai will know my face," he said to everyone while they watched. "However, there is one thing a samurai is never without and that's his top knot. Doctor-sama," he said, grabbing his ponytail, "please cut off my top knot."

The Doctor grabbed the ponytail under his hand and sawed through his hair under the topknot. When he finished, his hair fell limply around his head and Hattori pointed to the lock of hair in the Doctor's hand.

"There! I have now disgraced myself further by cutting off my topknot. I can't be a samurai without it so I hope this proves once and for all that I'm not going to betray you."

Akira bowed his head in respect as the Doctor handed the tanto and lock of hair back to Hattori. Hattori stared at the hair in his hand before he tossed it into the stream. He put his tanto back in the scabbard and got back on his horse. He smoothed his hair back away from his face with his hand while Akira and Rose shared a look and Akira quickly took his topknot out and let his hair hang down like Hattori's. Akira then grabbed three packs and several weapons from the cave. He put the packs on the Doctor, Hattori and Rose's horses and handed the Doctor and Donna tantos. He thought for a moment and crawled into the cave. He came three out several large sacks with something bulky inside and crawled back out.

"If there is water, we have special floatation devices to cross it," he said to the others.

He tied one sack to the side of each saddle so it hung off the horse. Then he put the rock back over the opening and inspected it. Satisfied the cache of weapons and tools was hidden; he walked back over to his pack and untied it. He pulled out several folded pieces of paper and handed them to the Doctor.

"This is a forged pass for you," he said to the Doctor. "It gives you permission to travel. There may be inspectors on the road to Osaka. They keep an eye out for thieves or runaway slaves or women fleeing abusive homes. Also, eta can't travel," he added, looking at Hattori. "The pass is for you. As the man, you are allowed to travel with women and servants. All they care about is if you have permission, not us."

The Doctor nodded. He opened up the papers and looked at them. He smiled when he saw the alias on the front page.

"Doctor John Smith?" he said to Akira.

"It's the only English name I know," he said with a shrug. "Is that alright?"

"Yes, it's fine," the Doctor said, amused that he had indirectly guessed his own alias.

He folded the papers back up and stuck them in his inside pocket. Akira got back on his horse and they rode back to the road. They rode past the woods in about a half hour and Hattori and Akira dropped back behind Rose and Donna so it wouldn't look suspicious. They saw a few men traveling on foot along the road. They gave the Doctor and the two women shocked looks but said nothing as they rode by. But when they went over a small hill, they noticed two samurai stopping a couple of men about a mile away.

"Inspectors?" Donna said to Akira.

"Yes. Just keep calm and don't say anything. Let the Doctor-sama speak," Akira said.

The Doctor quickly came up with a reason for traveling the rode as they drew nearer the checkpoint. The samurai waved the two men on when they were nearly there and both of them turned to face the Doctor. The samurai on the right held up his hand to stop them and everyone slowed their horses. Both men were dressed in full armor, the black lacquer gleaming in the sun. There heads were covered with helmets that had no adornment on them. The Doctor stopped and reached in to get the papers while the samurai walked up to him and held out his hand. The other samurai gave the others a hard inspection while the Doctor waited for the samurai to check his papers. The samurai who was inspecting the others stopped and Donna blushed when he gave her an odd look She knew he was looking at her billowed dress and wondering why she wasn't riding sidesaddle like Rose was. He shook his head and walked back to his companion while he muttered under his breath about gaijin and their odd ways.

"Where are you headed?" the samurai said to the Doctor as he handed him the papers.

"We're going to Osaka. We're hoping to do a bit of sightseeing there," the Doctor said. "This is my wife, sister and two servants," he added, pointing behind him. "We recently arrived in Nagoya and we're traveling across the country. We hope to see Kyoto and Edo eventually but Osaka is our next stop. We're doing a bit of camping. That's the reason for all the luggage on our horses," he said, patting the pack behind him.

"You speak excellent Japanese for a gaijin," the samurai said.

"Thank you. I made it a point to learn the language before leaving England. Helps to communicate in a foreign land," the Doctor said.

The samurai nodded. He cautioned the Doctor about the shogun's presence in Osaka and the Doctor promised to behave himself and look after his companions. Then, to everyone's relief, the samurai waved them on and they rode off.

"Excellent work," Akira said.

"Thank you, I've often had to lie to people. It comes easily to me," the Doctor said.

"I'm just thankful they didn't search us," Donna said. "I don't think they would believe we were simple travelers if they found all the weaspons."

"I was planning to say we heard there were bandits and armed ourselves accordingly but perhaps they were too trusting when it comes to searching us…or too lazy," the Doctor said. "They probably see many people in a day and they wave them through as fast as they can so they won't have to do much work. Human nature never changes."

"That may be true," Akira said. "But when we near the city gates, I better take most of the equipment and find a way to go over the walls with them. The guards at the gates won't be lazy, not with the shogun in the city. And the last thing you need is to be thrown in a dungeon and tortured to death."

"Yes," Hattori said. "They'll show you no mercy if they think you're here to assassinate Ieyasu. Better to hide the packs and retrieve them later."

"Let us go a few more miles then and we'll stop to rest the horses. Akira can take the packs and separate from us and meet us later inside the city."

"I'll go with him," Hattori said.

"No, you need to stay with the Doctor and help him," Donna said. "I'll go with Akira and take the rest of the packs with me."

"You sure?" the Doctor said.

"Yeah. I haven't helped out much, that needs to change. I'll be alright."

The Doctor nodded and the five of them picked up speed and galloped down the road.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

When they were a few miles from the city, they stepped off the road into a nearby forest. They took the packs off the horses and transferred to Akira and Donna's horses.

"Keep your tantos," Akira said to the others. "They won't say anything about that since most people carrying them when traveling to protect against bandits."

When they finished their work and all the packs and weapons were tied onto the horses, the Doctor helped Donna mount her horse.

"Oi, be careful," he said to his friend as she settled down into the saddle.

"And you. Don't get reckless," Donna said.

"Me? Never!"

Donna rolled her eyes at that and gave her friend's hair an affectionate tousle. The Doctor stepped back and stood with Rose and Hattori while Akira and Donna rode further into the forest. Once they were out of sight, the others got back on their horses and rode back to the road. A half hour later they were stopped behind a half mile long queue of people waiting to pass through the gates into the city. From their vantage point, the Doctor could see Osaka castle rising up above the stone walls. The walls of the castle were white and the roofs were sloping in the style of pagoda roofs. The castle narrowed near the top and the Doctor looked at Hattori and pointed to the smallest section at the top of the castle.

"That's where Ieyasu lives?" he said to him.

"Yes. In order to get up there, you have to scale the walls or get inside and get through all the guards and attendants to get to him."

The Doctor nodded. Off to the left, the furthest corner of the wall was bordered by forest and the Doctor figured Akira and Donna would use the cover of the forest and come close to that wall before going over.

A wagon was waved through the wooden gates and everyone moved closer to the entrance. The wait stretched on while papers and cargo was meticulously searched by the samurai. All samurai were dressed in black armor with red sashes over their chests. Each one carried a katana at his side and a tanto tucked into the belt at his waist. One young man on horseback was turned away for some reason and one of the samurai unsheathed his katana and waved it threateningly at him when he tried to argue his way in. The man turned and as he rode, they could hear him shouting curses at the samurai over his shoulder for a few seconds before he turned his attention to the road. A scowl was on his face as he rode past the Doctor.

"I hope they let us pass," the Doctor said to Hattori.

"Me too. I hope Akira-san knows how to forge a pass because they'll scrutinize that before letting us in," he said.

The queue kept on moving and finally it was the Doctor's turn. He smiled amicably at the samurai who walked up to him but the samurai glowered at him while he asked for his traveling papers. The Doctor handed the forged papers to him and he watched while another samurai came up beside the first and both of them scanned the papers. The first samurai looked up and glanced at Rose and Hattori.

"Are they with you?" he asked the Doctor.

"Yes, this is my wife, Rose and my servant, Basho," he said.

The samurai grunted and his eyes went back down to the papers. While he did that, two more samurai walked in and among them, inspecting the horses and their clothes. Hattori kept his head down, praying he wouldn't be recognized. The samurai stopped when he saw his missing hand and pointed it out.

"Yes. We were ambushed by bandits the other day and my servant lost his hand trying to protect us," the Doctor said.

Hattori breathed a soft sigh of relief when the samurai accepted that and moved on to Rose. Rose gave him a haughty look when the samurai stopped and stared at her voluminous dress.

"Gaijin, always wearing bizarre clothes," Rose heard the samurai mutter under his breath when he moved away from her back toward the gate.

"Couldn't agree more," Rose muttered to herself.

She thought no one heard that but the Doctor's acute hearing picked up on that and she could see him smiling at that. To her relief, the samurai handed the papers back to the Doctor and they were waved inside the gates.

Once they were through, the slowed their pace and looked around. Most of the buildings were wood with the rice paper doors, similar to the ones back in the village. But no building was taller than the castle which stood in the distance as proudly as Ieyasu did, keeping an eye on the city surrounding it. There were also several temples and shrines and they noticed a few Buddhist monks moving among the crowd, their shaven heads reflecting the sun. They also saw a large number of samurai moving in and among the crowd, their hands on the butt of their katanas while they kept watch on everybody.

"Oh gods, please don't let them recognize me," Hattori muttered as he kept his head down.

"Just stay calm," the Doctor said. "Don't draw attention to yourself and they won't bother you."

Hattori nodded and did as the Doctor said. He kept his eyes down, careful not to look at any samurai who glanced his way since sometimes eye contact could be perceived as a challenge or an insult. He'd known several hotheaded samurai who beheaded peasants who had dared to look at them and he wasn't in any hurry to have his head end up like his head.

"Should we find an inn?" the Doctor said to Rose and Hattori. "Perhaps we can use it as a base of operations and a place to hide our equipment."

"I think so," Rose said. "It would look less suspicious if you did since we're supposed to be traveling."

Hattori, do you know any inns here?" the Doctor said.

"Yes. I know one that's close to the castle. Some friends of mine stayed there once and they liked it."

"Good. Let's do that and we can stable the horses and walk on foot, check out the surroundings before we try anything," the Doctor said in a low voice.

"Follow me then, I'll show you where the inn is," Hattori replied.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

The Doctor thanked the female attendant as she left their rented room. The attendant bowed deeply, went outside the room and slid the door closed. They had rented room on the top floor of the two story inn. The room was small with tatami mats covering the floor. There was a cupboard on the right side of that room that had kimonos, futons and blankets as well as a white ceramic bowl and ladle. The bowl was filled with water that the attendant had brought up to them. When they rented a room for the night, the Doctor had to use the bandits story with the staff to explain why they had no luggage with them. The owner of the inn graciously recommended a couple of shops where they could buy western style clothing and some supplies.

The Doctor opened the shutters covering the small window at the back of the room and stared out at the castle. There were only three houses between them and the lake surrounding the castle. He admired the beauty of the white castle with its sloping black roofs. As he leaned out the window, he glanced over and smiled when Rose came up beside him and shared the view.

"This is gorgeous," the Doctor said, pointing to the castle. "I've always loved Asian architecture. I think this castle is grander than any in Europe."

"Have you traveled all over the world?" Rose said.

"Oh yes, been all over the planet. Seen it all, done it all. I love most of the places I've visited but Japan is one of my favorites. Course that my planet in my universe. For all I know, this castle is guarded by real dragons since this is a different reality."

"There are legends of dragons," Rose said. "They are good and help people but you have to search for them."

The Doctor chuckled at that and Rose smiled.

"You don't believe that?" she said.

"I've seen all sorts of things in my travels. Never seen a dragon the way the Asians depict them but you never know, perhaps some day I'll find one."

"I'd like to find one with you."

The Doctor gazed at her and his eyes drifted down to her dress.

"Will you be wearing that when we go hunting?" he said, pointing to the dress.

"No!" Rose said emphatically while the Doctor sniggered, "this thing is heavy and it's hot. How can English women stand it? I'll be glad when Akira brings our ninja outfits. I feel more comfortable wearing that. Did your Rose wear dresses like this?"

"Are you kidding? She'd run screaming before she wore that. I can count the number of times on one hand that she wore a nice dress. No, she preferred casual clothes. Actually, women wore a more feminine version of what men wore in my Rose's time. In the future, women won't be restricted to dresses and kimonos and they'll have more opportunities as well."

"Sounds wonderful," Rose said.

"Women can even rule and be in charge of entire countries," the Doctor said.

Rose's eyes bulged.

"They can?"

"Yes," the Doctor said. "Actually, there have been queens in England, among other places. There are some places where women have more of a say in how they live their lives. You've tasted some of that being a ninja but if your parents were never killed, you would have grown up a proper English woman and probably would have led a demure life. Marriage, domestic work and babies would have been your lot in life. So in a way, you were very lucky to land up in the mountains."

"And I was very lucky to meet you because now I get to travel," Rose said.

"Oh yes. And I will show you things that will astound you, Rose. You'll think dragons are just a boring little lark once I get through with you."

He glanced over his shoulder when he realized Hattori hadn't said anything. He noticed he was sitting on the floor by the door, quietly listening to him and Rose.

"Sorry, didn't mean to ignore you, Hattori," he said, turning around.

"No, I was listening to what you were saying," Hattori said. "I've never met anyone like you before. All these things you told me and I know I shouldn't believe them since they sound like the ramblings of an insane man but somehow I believe you."

"Well, I have a very truthful face. Helps to have that sweet, baby face that everyone can't help but adore."

He looked at Rose and shrugged when she gave him an odd look.

"I agree with Hattori-san. No one talks like you do," she said.

"Baby face, that's me," the Doctor said.

Hattori shook his head and Rose giggled when he gave them a cheesy grin.

XOXOXOXOXOX

"We're here," Akira said as he and Donna stopped their horses. They had been following the forests, riding inside and behind them to avoid detection and now they were right by the city wall.

"What do we do now?" Donna said, getting down from her horse.

Akira felt the packs on their horses and found the one he was looking for.

"We will use the shuko to climb the wall and go over. We must wait till it's night so we won't be seen. I will go up first and sit on the wall and use a grappling hook and rope. I will lower the rope and you put the packs on the hook and I will bring them up. When the packs are up and over the wall, you climb up the wall and we'll jump down on the other side. We can hide the packs somewhere near the wall and come back for them when we find the Doctor-sama. Can you do that? You couldn't climb the trees."

"No, I couldn't go from tree to tree like you lot. I think I can use those climbing claw things to go up and over the wall," Donna said. "I told the Doctor I was gonna start pulling my weight and I mean it."

"Okay," Akira said. "We'll rest here then by the wall and wait for the sun to go down. Get some sleep while I stand guard. It may be a long night."

Donna nodded. She found a place to sleep underneath a large tree. She was about to lie down when Akira pointed to the bed roll on the back of her horse.

"Forgot about that," Donna said, grateful for something to put between her body and the ground.

Akira took it off the back of the horse and handed it to her. Donna unrolled the bed roll and crawled into it. Akira sat down under a nearby tree and kept watch while Donna closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Akira rested his back against the tree and felt the cool breeze on his face. It had been nearly an hour since Donna fell asleep and he had spent that time watching the queue of people slowly entering the city in the distance. The trees were dense enough that no one could see them but he could see everyone filing through the gates.

He turned his head and looked at Donna. She was in a deep sleep and the wind gently moved her long ginger hair around her face. He stared intently at that hair, marveling at the color and its beauty. He had never seen anything like it, not on a human being anyway. He found himself staring at her, entranced by her beauty. He had always thought non-Asian women were a bit ugly but he was surprised that he didn't think that about Donna. The woman wasn't a warrior but even he could see she had a warrior's heart beating inside her and he admired her for that.

He turned his head back to the wall and his eyes widened when he saw the Doctor casually strolling alongside it. He was about halfway between the forest and the gate, stopping every few paces, staring up at the wall and touching it. Akira guessed he was inspecting it while pretending to go on a walk. He stood up and crept up to the edge of the forest. He gave out a quick shrill whistle to get the Doctor's attention and disappeared back into the forest when the Doctor caught sight of him. The Doctor looked over his shoulder and once he made sure that the samurai at the gate were still performing their duties, he quickly hurried to the woods.

"Thought you might be here by now," the Doctor said to Akira when he reached him.

He noticed Donna and grinned.

"Aw, she's asleep, how cute," he said.

"I told her to do that in case we have a long, sleepless night."

"Good idea," the Doctor said.

They quickly exchanged information. The Doctor told him about the inn and Akira told him their plans to get over the wall. The Doctor arranged to meet him and Donna just after sunset so they could take some of the packs back to the inn. The Doctor asked for one of the dogis and when Akira gave him a black one, he watched in astonishment while the Doctor threaded the clothes down the pocket of his trench coat.

"How are you doing that?" Akira said when the Doctor put an entire outfit into his trench coat pocket.

"Bigger on the inside pockets. Better give me two more so I can give some to Rose and Hattori."

Akira gave him two more outfits and watched in amazement as the Doctor put them in the same pocket.

"You truly are magical," he said, shaking his head.

"Nah, just Time Lord science," the Doctor said. "But I understand how it looks like magic to you. Now I better get back inside the city. I'll see you and Donna later."

"Be careful, Doctor-sama."

"And you," the Doctor said. "And I'd let her sleep. She whinges when she's not rested," he added, pointing to Donna. "Good luck."

He watched the samurai and when all of them had their heads turned away from him, he hurried back out of the forest. Once he was clear, he slowed down and resumed his leisurely stroll back to the gates. When the Doctor was allowed back into the city, Akira sat back down and rested his back against the tree.

XOXOXOXOXO

When the sun was almost beyond the horizon, Akira finally roused Donna and told her it was time. He handed her a black dogi to disguise her body in the darkness.

"We have to act quickly in case the moon rises," Akira said to Donna.

She nodded, took the dogi and moved behind a thick clump of trees while Akira found another clump. She breathed a sigh of relief as she peeled off the hot, heavy dress and put on the lighter dogi. It took her twenty minutes to dress and put the hood on and when she stepped out from behind the trees, Akira was waiting for her, fully dressed. He pointed to the gates. The samurai had been relieved by others and they were lighting torches mounted on both sides of the wooden gate.

"We must move silently and not attract attention," Akira said to Donna.

Donna nodded. Akira grabbed two packs and Donna did the same. They moved through the trees and watched the samurai who were still processing people at the gates. When they weren't looking, Akira and Donna took the packs and put them up against the wall and went back into the forest. They did this a second time with the rest of the gear and once everything was put up against the wall, Akira told Donna to hide behind the corner of the wall. Donna went around the corner with Akira and he put on his shuko and foot spikes.

"Watch what I do so you can do it after we're done bringing the packs over," he said to her.

Donna nodded and watched while Akira studied the wall. He put one shuko into a crack in the wall and started up. She noticed he was trying to find cracks and weak spots as he went up. When he reached the top, he straddled the wall and reached into the opening of his kimono, pulling out the rope and grappling hook. He lowered the hook down and Donna reached around the corner, grabbing the first pack. She put the strap on the hook and Akira pulled it up while Donna watched. When he dropped the pack over the other side, Donna went and got another one and put it on the hook when he lowered the rope. When Donna grabbed a third one and went back around the corner, Akira held up his hand and Donna froze.

"Hello, Doctor-sama," Akira said as he looked down the other side of the wall.

"Hello, hello," Donna heard the Doctor saying.

"They're here, all of them," Akira said to Donna.

"Okay, lower the rope then," Donna said.

Akira lowered the rope and Donna put the strap on the hook. As he pulled it up, she hurried around the corner to get the next one and froze when she noticed one of the samurai at the gate was looking their way.

"Shit!" Donna cursed as she quickly went around the corner. "Akira, I think they may have spotted us. Get outta sight!"

Akira swung his leg over and dropped down onto the other side of the wall.

"Damn it," Donna cursed softly.

Akira had given her shuko and foot spikes and she debated whether or not to use them. She inched back to the corner and peeked around and she grimaced when she noticed two of the samurai were now walking alongside the wall while they headed her way. Donna let out another curse and looked at the forest which was only a few feet from where she was standing. Deciding to risk it, she sprinted into the woods, hoping that the darkness and the dark of her clothes would help conceal her. She ran behind the trees she used earlier to undress and crouched down, trying to keep calm while the two samurai headed towards the remained of the packs and the forest.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Akira cursed as he stood by the wall.

"Donna's on the other side and two samurai are coming," he said to the Doctor.

"Then I'm glad that Rose and I didn't get changed yet. Akira, give me a boost over the wall. Rose, come with me. I have a plan to save Donna and our mission."

Donna tried to remain calm and keep breathing normally as she slowly inched back into the darkness. She cursed under her breath when the samurai noticed the packs lying up against in the wall, partly concealed by the shadows of the trees. The two samurai talked softly and fingered the packs. They were about to open them when they and Donna suddenly heard loud moaning. The moaning seemed to come from around the corner and Donna shifted her position so she could see what was going on. To her shock, she saw the Doctor and Rose up against the wall, snogging away. She watched while the samurai rounded the corner with swords drawn and the Doctor gasped.

"Oh! Sorry!" he said to the stunned samurai. "Um…my wife and I were taking a walk and we were staring at the moon and one thing led to another…"

To Donna's amusement, Rose was up against the wall and her expression held a mixture of shock and pleasure. Donna surmised the snogging part had been the Doctor's suggestion.

"There is a curfew," one of the samurai said after regaining his composure. "No one is supposed to be outside the gates after dark."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know that," the Doctor said, adjusting his tie. "The misses and me are new toJapanand we weren't aware of the curfew."

The samurai glanced at each other.

"Are those your packs then?" one of them said, hooking his thumb behind him.

"Yes. We were having a picnic by the wall, admiring the view and all that and we watched the sunset and we got a bit randy and…you know…"

Donna held her laughter in when she noticed the samurai looked embarrassed at that. She figured that was what the Doctor had in mind.

"Well, get back inside. Now you know there's a curfew," the lead samurai said.

"Yes, right! Thousand apologies," the Doctor said. "Come along, Rose. We don't want to trouble these nice samurai any longer. Good night!"

Donna melted back into the darkness when the Doctor took Rose's hand and they walked around the corner. They retrieved the last two packs and calmly walked back towards the gate while the samurai followed them. Donna shifted her position so she could see them. The Doctor and Rose were several steps in front of the samurai who were keeping a close watch on them. Donna hoped once they were inside the gates that the samurai wouldn't keep following them. While their attention was diverted, Donna hurried out of the woods to the back wall so she could get over it before the samurai decided to investigate further.

XOXOXOXOXO

Rose felt like she was walking on air. Once she went over the wall with the Doctor and hid her shuko and foot spikes in a pouch under her dress, the Doctor surprised her by pushing her up against the wall and kissing her. He held her there for a few minutes, kissing her passionately, and Rose felt like she would drown in her ecstasy. She felt her love for him deepen and she sincerely hoped that his snogging wasn't just playacting.

"Forgive me."

Rose was stunned when the Doctor spoke softly to her and she turned her head and gazed at him.

"For what?" she said softly.

"I didn't tell you I was going to do that, the kissing I mean. We didn't have much time and we needed to get up and over the wall and I thought up the plan on the spur of the moment. I didn't have time to warn you. Normally, I don't grab women and just snog them like that so I'm sorry if I offended you."

Rose was taken aback at that.

"Um…no, you didn't offend me," she said, amused.

She didn't say she liked it and fell silent but she could feel the Doctor studying her and she looked at him. His eyes were twinkling and she felt her heart race again.

"You liked it, didn't you?" he said. "You're just too embarrassed to say it."

He chuckled and squeezed her hand when she blushed at that.

"S'alright, I'm not angry about that," the Doctor said softly. "I'm just grateful you didn't smack me once I was finished. Your mother…I mean, the other Rose's mother would have done that."

"She would hit you?" Rose said.

"Um…not hit so much as smack the ever lovin' snot out of my face, still that was just as bad," the Doctor said.

Rose sniggered at that and a grin spread over the Doctor's face. As they neared the gate, the other samurai started heading towards them, making the last of the travelers in the queue shout at them to come back and process them. But before the Doctor could say anything, the samurai behind them yelled at their friends to let them go through, explaining that they didn't know about the curfew. The samurai at the gate glared at the Doctor and Rose for a moment before returning to the handful of travelers still left to be processed. The Doctor glanced at Rose before they hurried to the gate and edged around it into the city.

"Keep walking a bit, in case Laurel and Hardy decide to follow us," the Doctor said to Rose.

"Laurel and Hardy?" Rose said with a frown.

"Never mind," the Doctor said. "Just walked for awhile and then turn down a side street at some point. We'll make our way back to the others."

Rose nodded. They walked hand in hand while the Doctor glanced back. One of the samurai glanced at them through the open gate but he didn't follow them and the Doctor figured he was checking to make sure they were well and truly inside. The samurai went back to work and the Doctor breathed a sigh of relief.

"They're very tetchy here, these samurai. They like their rules and regulations," the Doctor said as they walked.

Rose didn't answer and the Doctor glanced at her and noticed she was lost in thought.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he said.

Rose gave him an uncomprehending look.

"I meant, tell me what you're thinking," he said.

"What you did back there, was that just pretend or did you mean it?" Rose said.

"Are you hoping I meant it?" the Doctor said.

"I…"

Rose trailed off, half afraid to tell him the truth in case that scared him off.

"I'm not your Rose," she finally said.

"No, you're not."

Rose swallowed hard, taking that as an affirmation that he had no interest in her. She let go of his hand but the Doctor laid his hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"You're not the Rose I knew," he said. "But you are Rose and I've grown quite fond of you. You wish to know if I was faking that kiss or not? Here's your answer."

Rose's heart felt like it was leaping out of her chest when he dropped his pack, pulled her to his body and kissed her. She was aware they were out in the open and she heard a few surprised gasps and muttered comments of indecent gaijin and their need to kiss out in the open. But at the moment she didn't care because all she could think about was the Doctor's kiss and how wonderful it was. She had never been kissed like this and she was unsure what to do besides kiss back. She wasn't even sure where she should put her hands but the Doctor didn't seem to care. She dropped her pack and put her hands on his back and the Doctor deepened the kiss.

Then suddenly, they heard a man yelling and the Doctor broke off the kiss and saw an angry samurai on horseback nearby.

"Take that kissing inside, gaijin!" the samurai said gruffly.

Rose felt like grabbing a katana and decapitating the samurai for interrupting the Doctor but the Doctor apologized to the samurai and he and Rose picked up their packs. The samurai rolled his eyes, muttered about crazy gaijin and rode off. Rose giggled when the Doctor stuck his tongue out at the samurai's back, flipped him the vees and gave Rose an impish grin as he took her hand and walked away with her.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

"Come on, Donna-san," Akira said as he straddled the wall and watched her try to climb it.

Donna was halfway up the wall, struggling to keep from falling back down while at the same time trying to pull herself up.

"This is a lot harder than it looks," she gasped as she pulled herself up another few inches.

Hattori was on the other side of the wall watching and listening. He chuckled.

"Gaijin are not good at martial arts, eh?" he said to Akira.

"Yes, I'm finding that out," Akira said to him. "Unless you're trained to do it since childhood like Rose-san is. Still, at least Donna-san is making the effort."

"Effort is right. I wanted to lose weight. I think I've dropped 50 stone just by climbing this wall. Takes all your strength and effort just to do it," Donna said as she pulled herself up another few inches.

She was finally within Akira's reach and he reached down, grabbed her wrist and helped pull her up while she used the foot spikes. Donna thanked him and straddled the wall. She looked down on the other side of the wall and groaned at the drop.

"How the Doctor's managed to live so long doing things like this, I'll never know," she said, swinging her leg over and balancing herself.

She gauged the distance and told Hattori to get out of the way when he tried to position himself under her.

"No, I'm afraid I'll kick you in the head. Stay back," she said to him.

Hattori stood back and Donna silently counted to three before she pushed herself up. She gasped when she hit the ground on her feet and stumbled a few steps before she got her balance. Akira dropped down behind her.

"Very good, gaijin, you did that without breaking any bones. There's hope for you yet," he teased while Hattori chuckled.

"Yeah? Well, just wait till we have to scale the castle walls," Donna said as they picked up the packs.

"Come, let's head for the castle. I'm sure Doctor-sama and Rose-san will join us there," Hattori said.

They looked around and made sure no one was watching before they hurried away.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Rose were back inside their room at the inn. They untied the pack and put on white dogi so they could blend in with the castle walls. Rose giggled when the Doctor's dogi was too short and showed off his legs again.

"You need a bigger one. You are too tall for a ninja," she teased.

"I realize that. That's why I prefer my own clothes but my own clothes won't camouflage me. I'll make do."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Rose said. "If you're captured, they'll show you no mercy."

"I need my TARDIS. I have to do this," the Doctor said. "Why are you doing it? If they capture you, they won't show you any mercy either."

"I want to help you. Besides, I've been trained to withstand torture."

"So have I."

Rose fell silent while she considered that.

"Have you ever needed the training?" she said.

The Doctor smiled tenderly at her.

"I have. Frequently. It goes with the territory when you battle evil," he said.

"And your Rose, she also endured torture?"

Rose knew she asked another wrong question when she saw the pain in his eyes.

"She did," he said tersely. "But she was courageous and strong like you are and she endured it. Most of the people who have traveled with me have endured torture or landed up in danger at some point or other."

"Donna as well?"

The Doctor nodded.

"Yes. She may be useless when it comes to climbing trees but she's brilliant in many other areas. When you travel with us, you'll see that."

Rose couldn't wait to do that but for the moment, they had to concentrate on one thing at a time. Once they finished dressing, they put the packs on their back and the Doctor walked over to the window. He looked out and gauged the distance to the ground.

"About thirty feet perhaps," he mused softly as he looked at the grass below.

"We can use this?"

The Doctor looked back and saw the grappling hook and rope in Rose's hand.

"Brilliant," the Doctor said.

They tied their katanas to their backs, put the hook on the windowsill and the Doctor let Rose go first. She took hold of the rope and the Doctor helped her out. She abseiled down the side of the wooden wall and stepped into the shadows when her feet hit the ground. She watched while the Doctor grabbed the rope, climbed out and did the same thing. When he hit the ground, he tugged at the hook until it finally came up and out the window. He stepped back when it fell and Rose quickly put it back in her pack while the Doctor stood guard and kept his eyes open for anyone coming towards them. When she was finished, the two of them kept to the shadows as they headed for the castle. They used the houses and the shadows between them to their advantage as they quietly made their way to the lake. When they reached several trees by the bank, they hid behind them and looked over the river. There was a hint of light in some of the windows of the castle including the top room.

"Should we wait awhile and see if the lights go out?" the Doctor whispered to Rose.

"I don't know if we should. The moon is beginning to rise," Rose said, pointing to the sky. "We need the darkness to get across the water."

The Doctor looked around, trying to find any sign of Akira, Hattori or Donna but he couldn't find them.

"Doctor-sama," Rose whispered.

The Doctor looked where she was pointing and they saw a small wooden boat tied to a small wooden post on their side of the lake. Rose stepped out a bit to have a look at it.

"There's no one in it," Rose said.

"Let's use it," the Doctor said. "We can go across and if Donna, Hattori or Akira are nearby, they might see us and I can row the boat back and get them."

"It's risky, sentries might be watching," Rose said.

"We may have to chance it. Unless you have a way to get across that will allow us to take our packs."

"We have special floatation devices that we put on our feet but I don't think the packs will allow us to do that. They might be too heavy. You're right, the boat might be our only way across. Here…"

She dropped her pack, untied it and pulled out two long, hollow reeds.

"These are breathing tubes. Carry one with you. If the samurai start firing arrows, get in the water. Don't worry about packs, we can always get more weapons or use some of their own."

The Doctor nodded. He took the reed and put it inside his kimono. Rose did the same and glanced up at the castle. She looked at all the windows but couldn't see anybody standing at them. She hoped that was a good sign. She noticed the Doctor was starting to move past the trees so he could make a dash to the boat. Rose grabbed his hand and the Doctor gave her a quizzical look. Rose put her arms around him and the Doctor enveloped her in his arms.

"Be careful, my love," she whispered.

"And you," the Doctor whispered back. "Take my hand and run with me. We'll try to reach the boat as fast as we can before they see us."

"Then maybe we should leave the packs here. Here…"

She reached inside and grabbed a few items. She gave the Doctor some throwing stars to put in the inside pocket of his kimono along with some caltrops and smoke bombs and their shuko and foot spikes. She grabbed a handful of each weapon for her own kimono and took out her tanto and one for the Doctor and put them in the waistband of their trousers.

"I think that's enough," Rose said. "We can try to get more weapons from the samurai once we're inside. I just hope we're making the right decision leaving the packs here."

"We need to be as fast as possible and the packs will slow us down. You're right; we can find what we need inside the castle. I've made do with far less than what you gave me. We'll be alright."

Rose nodded. She laid the packs in the shadow of the trees so they'd be hidden and stood up. The Doctor took her hand and squeezed it.

"On the count of three, we run," he said. "Ready? One…two…three!"


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty Two

Donna crouched down beside Akira and Hattori when they reached the lake surrounding the castle. They were staying in the shadows, all of them dressed in dogi while they surveyed the castle, the windows and their surroundings. Akira spied the boat and pointed it out to the others.

"The boat normally stays tied on the castle side," Hattori said. "Someone must be doing an errand or sent on a mission."

"We can use it, yeah?" Donna said. "Run over, get in and go across before anyone notices."

"What if someone does notice?" Akira said. "If we go across and the guards see us, they can shoot arrows down onto us, we'll be vulnerable."

"There is another way," Hattori said. "There's a hidden entrance that leads to an underground tunnel that goes up into the castle. Samurai use it to get in if the castle is under siege and it's also an escape tunnel for the same reason. Not every samurai knows about it but I do. I can show you where the entrance is. We'd have to go back over the wall since the tunnel leads into the woods but it's not far."

"What about the Doctor and Rose?" Donna said. "Should we wait for them?"

Hattori scanned their surroundings and shook his head.

"I don't see them. I don't think we should wait too long. The moon is rising and we won't have the shadows for long. I…"

He trailed off when the Doctor and Rose suddenly dashed out of some trees and ran towards the boat.

"Aiya! Stop them!" Akira hissed.

"How? I can't yell at them and their backs are to us," Hattori said.

They watched while Rose leapt into the boat and the Doctor quickly untied the rope, pushed the boat towards the water and got into it. He grabbed a large wooden paddle and began to propel the boat away from the moonlit part of the water into the darkness.

"Hattori, let's use that tunnel and get inside. We can find a way to let them in," Akira said.

Hattori nodded. He said a silent prayer for his friends in the boat while Akira got his grappling hook out of the pack and put on his shuko and climbing spikes.

Rose glanced up at the windows while the Doctor quickly guided the boat into the part of the lake that was still shrouded in darkness. So far she couldn't see anyone at the windows but she still felt uneasy.

"I don't like this," Rose said. "I feel too exposed out here."

"So do I but we'll be across in no time," the Doctor said as he glanced up at the windows. "Just keep alert for any sort of movement."

Rose looked all around her and she suddenly gasped. The Doctor jerked his head around and looked where she was pointing. He saw Donna on the far side of the bank gesturing to them.

"Ah, there they are," the Doctor said. "Well, once we're across I'll take the boat and…"

He frowned when he saw a rope come down the wall beside her and he noticed Akira on top of the wall, sitting in the shadows. The Doctor stopped paddling and both he and Rose watched, confused, while Donna grabbed the rope and Akira pulled her up.

"Where are they going?" Rose whispered to the Doctor.

The Doctor shrugged. He watched as Donna and Akira jumped down the other side.

"They found another way in?" the Doctor said. "I don't know Akira or Hattori that well but Donna wouldn't abandon us. They must have another plan. I need to seriously consider bring walkie talkies along with me everywhere I go for moments like this. We'll just have to keep going and trust that they'll meet us somewhere in the castle and…"

Rose gasped when an arrow suddenly thunked into the front of the boat.

"If we live long enough to get inside the castle," the Doctor said as he rapidly paddled the boat away from the assault.

Rose looked around for the source of the arrow and found one lone samurai in a window near the corner of the castle. She cursed the fact that she didn't bring her bow and arrows but it would be almost impossible to hit the assassin from her vantage point.

"Doctor-sama, we need to get away from here. They're gonna sound the alarm and…"

The Doctor looked up when she pointed and saw another samurai bringing a cauldron on an iron stand to the window. The samurai lit a signal fire and he cursed as he paddled faster. He knew that a sentry on the other side would see it and samurai would be waiting for them on both sides. Other samurai were now at the windows, shooting arrows at them.

"Rose, use the breathing tubes. We'll swim for it and hope we outwit them," the Doctor said.

Rose nodded. She pulled her breathing tube out and the Doctor did the same. They stood up and both of them dived into the water while one of the samurai shouted to the others that they were in the water now.

XOXOXOXOXO

Hattori, Akira and Donna stopped when they heard the shouting and looked back at the castle.

"They spotted them, they're sounding an alert," Hattori said.

"Damn it! We should have waited and brought them over to us," Akira said.

"We can't do anything for them now. The samurai will surround both sides and try to capture them. We need to get to the tunnel and get inside, that's their best hope for survival now."

"Well, get the lead out, you two," Donna said.

The three of them ran hell for leather towards the forest while the shouting increased.

XOXOXOXOXO

The Doctor swam through the murky water with Rose towards what he though was the riverbank. Rose was beside him, her reed tube sticking up slightly out of the water just as his was. Rose got his attention and pointed off to her right. The Doctor followed her, trusting that her ninja training gave her a good idea what to do. The last thing he wanted to see happen was this Rose being tortured or killed in front of his eyes. After losing his other Rose, he doubted he'd survive the shock of seeing this one killed.

Towards the riverbank was some patches of reeds and floating algae. Rose directed the Doctor to swim to it and they stopped amidst the reeds and treaded water just enough to keep their position, hoping that their breathing tubes would be concealed among the other reeds. The Doctor kept his eyes up, watching the riverbank. He saw one samurai run past but he didn't stop to check the reeds. Then he saw two more that were slowly walking along the bank, their katana drawn while they looked more closely at the water. Rose pointed towards the underwater portion of the riverbank and both of them swam more closely to it, trying to hide directly under the reeds and algae. Both of them held onto the wet earth beside them, holding their bodies still while they tried not to breathe through the reeds too loudly. From this vantage point, the Doctor couldn't see much, although he could make out the faint outlines of the samurai as they bent over and looked at the water. To his relief, they moved on but he knew they were stuck for the moment. They couldn't get out of the water without attracting attention. He could only hope that the samurai would assume after awhile that they had drowned and things would calm down enough for them to make their escape.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three

"Here we are," Hattori said as he pointed to a large rock deep in the forest.

"Where?" Akira said, looking around.

"Move the rock and there's a hole and a ladder that leads down to the tunnel. It's not a real rock. It's made of wood and painted to look like a rock. Watch."

Hattori pushed on it and the rock slid away. It was so light he was able to move it with his single hand.

"Hmm, I thought you samurai weren't supposed to do sneaky things," Akira said.

"We aren't but that doesn't include building escape tunnels so we can get out alive," Hattori said.

He sat on the ground and put his feet into the hole. He slid his feet onto the rung of the wooden ladder and went down. Akira and Donna heard a clacking sound and then saw firelight through the hole. Hattori appeared at the bottom with a flaming torch in his hand. He nodded to Akira and Akira let Donna go first. Hattori backed up and as Donna descended, she noticed there was a pile of flint pieces near the ladder and she realized the clacking sound was Hattori making a spark for the torch from one of them. She got off the ladder and once Akira was down the ladder, Hattori handed the torch to him and picked up a couple of the larger flint pieces.

"Just in case," he said, putting them in the inner pocket of his kimono.

After that, Hattori took the torch and guided his friends back towards the castle.

XOXOXOXOXO

Ieyasu woke with a grunt when he heard the yelling of his guards and retinue. He'd been sleeping peacefully in his bedroom and he sat up on his futon, calling for Yoshi. After a couple of minutes, Yoshi entered his room and bowed.

"What's going on?" Ieyasu said, pointing to the door. "Who's shouting?"

"Your Excellency, two ninja were discovered trying to cross the lake. They went into the water and the samurai are hunting for them. Should we execute them if found?"

Ieyasu thought for a moment and shook his head.

"No, bring them to me alive if you can. I want to torture them to find out what they know before we kill them."

"Yes, Excellency, I will tell the samurai and make sure your orders are passed along."

"Is there any danger of infiltration?" Ieyasu said.

"I don't think so, Excellency. The samurai are on both sides of the lake now. If they resurface, we'll find and catch them."

"Good. I'm going back to sleep then. Wake me if there is news."

"Yes, Excellency."

Yoshi bowed and left the room. Ieyasu waited until the door was slid shut before lying back down and going back to sleep.

XOXOXOXOXO

It had been twenty minutes since the Doctor and Rose stopped under the reeds and they were still waiting for the all clear. The Doctor's eyes were beginning to sting from the murky water and he shut them periodically. He felt movement beside him after closing them for the fifth time and he opened his eyes to see Rose slowly going towards the surface. He grabbed her hand and Rose held up one finger, her face asking him to trust her. The Doctor reluctantly let go and watched as she took the reed out of her mouth, held her breath and slowly stuck her head up above the water.

Rose surfaced up to her nose and listened. She still heard shouts in the distance but they were few and far between. She slowly turned her head from side to side but couldn't see much. She couldn't see any samurai near the reeds though and she hoped that was a good sign. She moved a bit towards the front of the reeds and stopped when she saw a couple of samurai on the far bank, standing watch. She turned and moved back into the reeds. Then she took her breathing tube, put it up above the water to get the water out and put it in her mouth. She lowered herself back down and shook her head when the Doctor gave her a questioning look. She held up two fingers and pointed towards the castle bank. The Doctor rolled his eyes at that. He thought a moment, wondering what their next move should be. He pointed up to the reeds and went up. He beckoned to Rose when she didn't move and Rose came up with him. He had his head up above the water and Rose did the same thing.

"We can't stay here forever," the Doctor whispered to her.

"I know. We need to do something," Rose whispered back.

"I have a plan but it'll require some sacrifice on my part."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to let myself get captured."

Rose's eyes widened in horror and she grabbed his arm under the water.

"No, they'll torture and kill you," Rose hissed at him.

"I'll have to chance it. If I surrender, I'm hoping that'll be the end of the hunt. If not, you can get to safety while they're taking me inside. I'll be alright, I promise. I'm the only one who can get into the TARDIS so I have to get close enough to get inside it."

"What about me?" Rose said.

"Find the others and help them," the Doctor said. "They went over the wall and I'm betting they went back into the woods. If I see them inside, I'll let them know where you are so one of them can come and get you. I have to do this, Rose. We can't stay in the water all night and if one of us doesn't surrender, they'll be here all night."

The Doctor saw the concern in her eyes and he laid his head against hers.

"I promise I'll come out of this alive. I've been in worse spots; a bunch of samurai is nothing to me. And if I get the TARDIS and get it working I'll be back for you and everyone else. Just trust me, yeah?"

"Yes. Just don't do anything too foolish," Rose said.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at that.

"I'm not sure what you mean by too foolish but if you mean do something to get myself roasted and toasted, I'll restrain myself. Now go back down and wait. I'll swim away from here and come out at a different location and start running. I'm pretty sure they still have samurai on the city side. If not…well, they'll send the samurai to hunt for me and you can still get away."

"Be careful, please," Rose said.

The Doctor winked at her. He put the breathing tube inside his kimono, activated his respiratory bypass system and sank down into the water. Rose said a silent prayer to the gods and the kami to keep him safe as she felt him swim away. Then she raised the breathing tube up above the water, put it in her mouth and sank down.

XOXOXOXOXO

The Doctor swam alongside the bank, silently hoping that his idea would succeed. He had been truthful when he told Rose why he was doing this but he left out that he was also protecting her in case they did have ideas about torturing and killing them. He still wished he could get a message to his other friends, telling them what was going on so Rose wouldn't have to search for them but he hoped that whatever happened, it would work out in the end as it usually seemed to do.

After swimming for fifteen minutes, he paused and looked up. He couldn't see anything but a few reeds above him and there was nothing but darkness and the moon above that. No samurai near the bank. He decided this was a safe enough distance to come out. He counted silently to three and went up. He grabbed the riverbank and started getting out. He smirked when he heard the samurai on the castle side yelling out his position and he quickly scrambled up onto shore. He made a face at the soggy clothes he was wearing and the way they stuck to his body and the wind was now making his skin chilly but he ignored that as he ran.

While he ran, he jerked his head to the right when he saw two samurai run out from behind a house, trying to cut off his escape. He thought fast and reached into his soggy inner pocket. He halfheartedly threw a couple of throwing stars at them, trying to make his escape look more realistic. He threw them in such a way that the samurai were able to dodge them and keep going. He reached into his pocket again and found one of the smoke bombs. It was small and black and to his amazement it still worked when he threw it on the ground. Thick black smoke exploded out of the open bomb, putting a smoky barrier between him and the samurai but he didn't use it to hide and kept on running. By now, he could see two more samurai coming around the bend of the lake up ahead of them and he turned and tried to head for the houses.

As he ran towards a house, three more samurai came out from behind it and the Doctor knew he was cornered on three sides. His only option was to dive back into the lake, which only meant more waiting and searching so he slowed down and held up his hands in surrender to prevent one of them throwing something sharp into his body. He stopped and waited for the seven samurai to catch up and surround him.

"Where is the other?" one of the samurai growled at the Doctor.

"Dead. An arrow got him in the back when he went into the lake," the Doctor said.

He didn't know if they believed that but he hoped they did. At any rate, the samurai were now occupied with him and he hoped that gave Rose some leeway to get to safety and find the others. He glanced at the lake and didn't see her and that gave him some comfort that she hadn't decided to come out of the lake and try to distract his captors. One of the samurai growled at him to follow them and he offered no resistance while he walked in the midst of them. He noticed the boat was back on the city side of the shore and he figured someone must have jumped in, retrieved it and rowed it back. They walked him to the boat and one samurai got in. He got in behind that one and another samurai got in behind him. They told him to sit down and he did as told. The other two sat down and the one in front used the paddle to go to the castle while the one behind the Doctor kept a tanto at his prisoner's back.

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder and saw the other samurai were heading back to the houses. Hoping that marked the end of the search, he turned his head back around and sat quietly while the boat neared the other side of the lake.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty Four

Rose surfaced about twenty minutes later, filled with rage. She pushed herself up onto the bank, not caring whether she was seen. The way she felt at the moment, she could take on all of Ieyasu's men and slaughter them all. It was Ieyasu's men who had taken the time machine and caused all this and now the Doctor was their prisoner and would most likely be tortured and killed because of them. She felt like plunging her tanto into all of their necks.

She calmed herself down as she ran for the trees. She needed to keep a level head right now and think about revenge later. She needed to find Akira, Hattori and Donna and find a way to rescue the Doctor. She untied one of the packs and pulled out a dry dogi. This one was black which was better to blend in with the shadows. She figured since the samurai were probably on high alert now it wouldn't work to scale the walls. Frankly, she felt like swimming up to the island and walking right in the front door but first things first. She stripped and put on the dry dogi, keeping her eyes on the castle.

"I swear to the gods, if they hurt the Doctor, I'll gut them all myself," she growled as she changed her clothes.

XOXOXOXOXO

Hattori slowly slid open the hidden door in the wall and looked around. He couldn't see anyone and the hallway was dimly lit with a few flaming torches. He gave the all clear and everyone stepped out into the hallway. Akira slid the hidden door back into place and made a mental note of where it was before he took his tanto out of his waistband and held it at the ready.

"Where do we go now?" Donna asked.

"Well…they may have put the time machine in a cupboard. If that's so, it'll be on the ground floor. Follow me and keep your wits about you."

Donna pulled out her tanto, trying to ignore the Doctor's voice in her head warning her about resorting to violence and not using her brain. She didn't want to kill anyone but if someone tried to kill her, she was going to defend herself. She could explain herself to the Doctor later.

They reached the stairs unopposed and Hattori was looking around, feeling something was wrong.

"Where are the guards? This is too easy, something is wrong," Hattori said softly to his friends. "Even if the guards were sent to find Doctor-sama and Rose-san, there would still be some left behind to guard the shogun."

He pulled out his katana and held it in a defensive position. Akira pulled out his and held it in one hand and his tanto in the other. Donna was in between them as they slowly went downstairs. Her heart was beating so hard she was sure everyone could hear it but she forced herself to take deep breaths and keep calm. They reached the bottom step and Hattori held up his hand and looked around. There wasn't any sign of anyone and Hattori shook his head, still not liking the absence of samurai.

"Maybe everyone is guarding Ieyasu," Donna said softly as he stepped out of the way and she and Akira came down to the ground floor.

"Yes but not all of them," Hattori said softly. "There should be some on all levels. This doesn't make any sense."

Donna started to go forward and Hattori stopped her.

"The Nightingale Floor," he whispered.

Donna groaned. She'd forgotten about that. Hattori pointed to the corridor in front of them. The walls down the corridor were mainly wood but there was rice paper sliding doors on either side. Hattori demonstrated the floor by gently putting his foot on it, it made a loud squeak that sounded extremely loud in the silence.

"So what do we do?" Donna whispered.

"There is an armory down the hall where they keep spare weapons and armor," Hattori said. "I was thinking Akira-san and I could dress as samurai. You, on the other hand…your fire hair is a bit harder to disguise."

"We could say she's our prisoner," Akira whispered to Hattori. "She's dressed as a ninja. If we dress as samurai, we could tell them we captured her."

"I think that would work," Hattori said. "I could do all the talking since I know the samurai here."

"Can you wrap up your stump and say I cut your hand off?" Donna whispered to Hattori as she pointed to his stump. "It would give an excuse for your missing hand."

Hattori nodded.

"Yes. But we have to get across the floor without them knowing," Hattori said. "If we're dressed as samurai, it won't matter."

"Leave it to me," Akira said. "We were taught how to move on floors such as this. Just stay here for a moment."

Hattori was puzzled as he pointed out the door Akira needed to go to but his puzzlement turned to awe when Akira ran across the floor on the balls of his feet, barely touching the floor planks as he rapidly ran across the floor. At the most, the squeaks he was making was barely audible during his rapid pace.

"No wonder we had so much trouble killing the ninja," Hattori whispered to Donna as Akira reached the door, slid it open and slipped inside. "They do things that seem to defy belief."

"So does the Doctor," Donna whispered back as Akira slid the door shut.

They waited for their friend but suddenly they heard voices in the distance. Hattori pointed back up the stairs and he and Donna went up and crouched down in the shadows so they could see who was coming. Donna's mouth fell open when they finally saw several samurai escorting the Doctor. The Doctor's hands were bound behind him and his face was bruised and bloodied but there was the familiar look of determination on his face as they led him to the door closest to the stairs and opened it. Hattori and Donna kept absolutely still but the samurai didn't notice them as they shoved the Doctor inside and went inside after him. They waited until the door was slid closed before looking at each other.

"Where's Rose?" Donna whispered. "Oh God, I hope they didn't capture her as well."

"Don't know but we have to find a way to free Doctor-sama," Hattori whispered. "The problem is if Akira-san comes out and walks normally across the floor, they'll hear him and come out."

"And we can't get to him either," Donna whispered.

"I don't know how to run like Akira-san does and I doubt you do too."

"Nope," Donna said glumly.

"We need to create a distraction then. I…"

He trailed off for a moment in thought and then his eyes widened.

"I have an idea. They know me so I'll enter and tell them that the ninja have been holding me captive and I can lead them to where the village is. Perhaps I can lure them away from the room or they'll take Doctor-sama somewhere where we can get to him."

"You're going in there?" Donna said, pointing to the room. What do you need me to do?"

Hattori thought for a moment.

"Perhaps if I run as if I'm in a hurry, you can run at the same time I do and reach the room before they come out to investigate. I'll run with you and pretend like I'm running past the room to get help and don't know they're in there. I can turn around if they investigate and run back to them for help. That will cover your footsteps to the armory."

Donna nodded. She followed Hattori down the steps and stopped when they reached the bottom. She positioned herself on Hattori's right side so she'd be closest to the door. She took several deep breaths, readying herself and trying to keep calm while she listened to the samurai in the room yell at the Doctor.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty Five

Ieyasu's eyes flew open when he heard Yoshi calling to him. He raised up on his futon and asked him to enter. The door slid open, Yoshi came inside and bowed.

"Excellency, we captured one of the ninjas. Several of the samurai are interrogating him now."

"What about the second one. You said there were two," Ieyasu said.

"The ninja claims that the second one was killed. We haven't found the body yet. And…"

Yoshi trailed off and took a deep breath when Ieyasu asked him to continue.

"The ninja is an Englishman," he said.

Ieyasu got to his feet.

"So it is true, the gaijin are turning against me and plotting with the ninja to overthrow me! I must speak to this Englishman myself before killing him."

"Excellency, might I suggest a bit of restraint? This is an Englishman; perhaps he's a rogue that decided on his own to join the ninja. If you kill him, the other Englishmen may turn against you. And they have guns and cannons," Yoshi added.

Ieyasu's jaw tightened and he nodded.

"You're right. We must be cautious. However, if I find out that this is the start of an uprising, the gaijin will be forced out ofJapanand there will be no mercy for them. Now…show me where this Englishman is being held."

"Yes, Excellency, follow me."

XOXOXOXOXO

The Doctor grunted when the samurai forced him to his knees in the middle of the room. There was nothing in the room except for tatami mats and a few pillows clumped up in one corner of the room. The Doctor gave the samurai a friendly grin while they gave him looks of death in return.

"Evening, lovely night, eh?" the Doctor said. "I thought I might go for a boat ride and view your lovely castle up close and…"

"SILENCE!" one of the samurai bellowed at him.

"Just explaining myself," the Doctor said, shrugging. "My friend and I, that is…my dead friend and I was having a tour of the castle by moonlight. Lovely castle by the way…"

He grunted when the samurai struck him and bellowed once more for him to shut up. The Doctor gave him a warning look.

"I don't recommend doing that again," he said in a terse voice. "I might retaliate and you wouldn't want that."

"I SAID…SHUT UP!" the samurai bellowed before striking him across the face again.

XOXOXOXO

While Donna ran with Hattori, she heard the samurai screaming at the Doctor to shut up and heard the sound of someone being hit. She hoped her friend was okay as they ran to the room. While they ran, the squeaks echoed in the narrow corridor but when they reached the room, they turned and were shocked when the door was still closed. They heard more yelling from the samurai.

"The yelling must have drowned out the squeaks," Hattori whispered to Donna. "Go inside and tell Akira what's going on. I'm gonna carry on with my plan of acting like I just escaped."

"Are you gonna be okay?" Donna said.

"Yes. Just worry about not getting caught. I can take care of myself."

Donna whispered good luck to Hattori, slid open the door and hurried inside the room. Hattori slid the door shut and waited till there was a lull in the shouting before he ran back towards the room. This time, the door slid open and one of the samurai looked out. Hattori recognized him as Aoki, a man who was only a few years older than he was.

"Hattori-san?" Aoki said in disbelief. "I thought you were dead. We all thought you were dead."

"No, I escaped from the ninjas and came back here. They took my hand and cut off my topknot," he said, holding up his stump.

"Those filthy dogs!" Aoki growled. "We'll make them all pay, starting with this one! Come inside, we have one of them!"

Hattori walked inside and froze when he saw the Doctor. The Doctor's face was bruised and bloodied and he fought back the rage at seeing his friend in that condition. The Doctor had been a great friend, shown him mercy when no one else did and he felt bad for not being there to help him when he needed it. He cursed the fact that he didn't run to intercept them when they ran to the boat.

"Do you recognize him?" Aoki said, pointing to the Doctor.

"Yes, he was one of the ones in the village. Can I speak to him alone for a moment?"

"Why?" Aoki said.

"I want to get a bit of revenge in for what he did to me."

Aoki glanced at the other samurai and they nodded. Hattori breathed a sigh of relief when everyone filed out of the room leaving him alone with the Doctor. He waited until the door slid shut and then he stepped in front of the Doctor, fell to his knees and prostrated himself.

"Forgive me, Doctor-sama," he said softly.

"For what?" the Doctor said softly.

Hattori raised himself back up to a kneeling position.

"I failed you. I saw you and Rose-san run for the boat but I didn't stop you and now you're a captive."

"You've done nothing wrong. I volunteered to do this."

"What? Why?"

"Because there were too many samurai and Rose and I couldn't get away. I did this to create a distraction so she could escape. But she's trying to find you and Akira and Donna. We saw you go over the wall but we didn't know where you went."

"There's a secret tunnel that leads from this castle under the ground to the forest. I knew about it and got Akira and Donna inside. They're down the hall in the armory. Akira's going to dress as a samurai. Donna was going to be our captive."

"Can you tell Donna to go back to the tunnel and find Rose?" the Doctor whispered. "Bring her back here so they can look for the TARDIS?"

Hattori nodded.

"What about you? They might torture you," Hattori said. "And I'm sure they'll execute you when they're finished with that."

"Don't worry about me. I can wriggle out of these ropes. I know a few tricks when it comes to escaping. Just make sure that you and Akira and Donna don't get caught."

Hattori nodded and the Doctor smiled.

"Thank you," the Doctor said.

"And thank you for saving me when the other ninja wanted to kill me. You've been a wonderful friend."

"And you. Tell me…you don't have anyone here? No family?"

"Not really, perhaps some distant relatives but I don't speak to them."

"And your career as a samurai is basically over with?"

"With the loss of my hand? Yes."

"Come with me then. When I leave with Donna and Rose, come with us. I know several places I can take you to where you can get a replacement hand."

"A new hand? Grow one like magic?" Hattori said.

"Not magic. It's a bit hard to explain but there are people who can make fake hands that will work as well as your own. I can do that for you and give you a new hand. Would you like to do that and come travel with me?"

Hattori was stunned into silence for a moment and then he bowed at the waist.

"I would be honored," he said.

"And I would be honored as well if you came with me, my friend. Now…you better hurry and tell Donna to go find Rose before that lot come back in here."

Hattori nodded and stood up.

"And Hattori, hit me a couple of times."

Hattori froze.

"I can't…"

"Please, so they'll hear it and not suspect you of treachery. And yell at me as well. I don't want anyone doubting your loyalty. I can take someone hitting me. Just do it."

Hattori nodded. He took a deep breath and forced himself to yell at his friend, calling him a dog and accusing him of taking his hand. He then forced himself to hit the Doctor a couple of times, feeling bad about doing it while he struck him. When he was finished, the Doctor nodded his approval and smiled when Hattori bowed to him in respect. The Doctor whispered good luck to him and Hattori walked towards the door so the other samurai would know to come back inside.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty Six

Hattori waited till the door was closed before hurrying down the corridor to the armory. Now that the samurai knew of his presence, he could walk along the floor and not raise an alarm. He went into the armory and Donna and Akira looked at him. Akira was now dressed in full black samurai armor.

"What are they doing to him?" Donna said, hurrying over to Hattori.

"Hitting him," Hattori said. "He made me hit him when I managed to talk to him alone. But Rose is alive and she's probably looking for us. So, Donna-san, the Doctor-sama wants you to go back down the tunnel and go look for her. He said to lead her back here and look for the…TARDIS."

"What about the samurai?" Donna said. "Will they be there when I go back to the hidden entrance?"

"I'll go with you," Akira said. "If they find us, I'll tell them I just captured you and convince them to go about their business. Once Donna-san is back in the tunnel, I'll come back."

Hattori looked at Akira's face. His face was uncovered and he wasn't sure if Akira would be recognized. He walked over to one of the mannequins that were used to display the armor when not in use. Akira had put everything on except the metal mask that covered the lower part of the face. The mask had a red mustache on it and the mouth was shaped into a fearsome scowl.

"Wear this, it'll help disguise you," Hattori said, taking it off the dummy.

Akira took off the helmet and tied it onto his face. He put the helmet back on and Hattori nodded his approval.

"Good. I'll go back inside the other room and make sure they don't decapitate Doctor-sama or hurt him too much."

"I'm glad he sent me to find Rose because if I went in there, those samurai's heads would be rolling," Donna growled.

"Follow me outside and you can walk with me to the door. They know I'm out here so your footsteps will be disguised with mine," Hattori said.

Akira and Donna walked up behind him while he slid open the door. Hattori peeked out and quickly slid the door shut.

"What is it?" Donna whispered.

"Ieyasu, he's going in the room with some more samurai and his advisor," Hattori whispered. "We need to get the Doctor-sama away from here before he ends up dead."

"Go in there and keep an eye on him, I'll join you when I get Donna-san back in the tunnel," Akira said. "If we have to battle the entire castle, we'll get him and his time machine out of here."

Hattori nodded. He slid open the door, peeked out and nodded when the corridor was empty. He, Donna and Akira stepped out and he shut the door.

The Doctor turned his head towards the door when Ieyasu entered with his retainers and his advisor. Ieyasu was dressed in red samurai armor without a helmet. He glared at the Doctor while the Doctor gazed at him calmly.

"Who are you?" Ieyasu said once the door was closed.

"Fenton Aloysius Butterworth the Third," the Doctor said.

"Where are you from?"

"Stoke on Chippenworth on Avon on Calling," the Doctor said.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well…I think I'm being beaten to within an inch of my life."

"What are you doing in Japan?" Ieyasu said impatiently.

"Oh! Sorry! I'm here to see your wonderful country," the Doctor replied. "Sorry, I thought you meant what was I doing at this very moment. Gotta be precise, old bean. We English are very literal creatures."

"Why are you allied with the ninjas?" Ieyasu said.

"Is that what they are? They told me they were monks. They wanted me to deliver a package to you, my mate and I, that is. But dash it all, you bally buggers put an arrow in my friend's back and he snuffed it. I tried to warn him. Gave him the code word, cabbage crates coming over the briny and caribou nibbling at the croquet hoops, but the silly blighter didn't understand a bally word. Shame. He was a jolly good chap. Who are you by the way, old fruit?"

"I am Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shogun!" Ieyasu said pompously.

"Oh, is that important, old squirrel? I'm sorry; I'm bally ignorant when it comes to Japan. Couldn't tell a samurai from a geisha if my life depended on it. Dash it all, I should have studied the country more closely but I thought I'd be able to walk through the bally country and be pompous and make all of you follow my ways. I'm a blessed blighter, I am. So, what's your job then?"

"I am the leader of the country!"

"Really? Where's your crown then?"

"My, what?"

"Crown, man! Dash it all, the king wears a crown! Don't you bally Asians know how to rule a country? Are we to come in and take you over and teach you how to do it properly?"

"So is that why you're allied with the ninjas? You wish to overthrow me?"

"You mean the monks? No, I was meditating with them. Course I did notice they seem to meditate with swords in their hands and they were prone to chopping off heads at a moment's notice but I thought that was a Buddhist thing. Sorry, bally ignorant about Japan and all."

"You are a criminal and you will die like a dog for your treachery!" Ieyasu said, pointing at the Doctor.

"Wait, wait, old bean, I seem to remember something. Something about how there really is an emperor but he's only a puppet ruler because the shogun took over command of the whole country and only keeps the emperor alive as a figurehead…or something like that, I mean I could be wrong, this blessed lack of education about Japan and all. But if that's true, then you're ruling without real authority…right?"

"You dog! How dare you speak to his Excellency like that!" Yoshi said when Ieyasu was stunned into silence.

"I'm sorry…and you are?" the Doctor said.

"I am Fukioshi Yoshi, advisor to the shogun."

"Mm, that's nice. Anyway," the Doctor said, looking at Ieyasu. "Am I right about you seizing power and ruling the country without permission? I'm a stupid gaijin and need to be told everything. Does the emperor know you persecute people in his name…old fruit?" he said, leveling his gaze on Ieyasu and looking him dead in the eye.

The samurai looked to their leader for orders but Ieyasu was still silent as he looked at the dead calm on the Doctor's face. While their eyes were locked, Aoki heard someone walking across the floor outside. He opened the door and was taken aback. Hattori was standing directly in front of the door.

"Can I come in?" Hattori said.

"Yes," Aoki said. "Ieyasu-sama, this is Hattori-san. He escaped from the ninja village."

Ieyasu spun around with Yoshi and he stared at Hattori in disbelief.

"You're alive," he said to Hattori.

"Yes, Excellency," Hattori said.

He locked eyes briefly with the Doctor and was relieved to see he hadn't been harmed further. He noticed a few of the samurai around the shogun were staring at his severed hand with distaste and he guessed that they were thinking he should have committed suicide rather than stay alive and be dishonored. He loathed these people he used to call his friends who were now looking at him as if he were nothing just because his hand and topknot were gone. He realized that he had been living a lie anyway since they would have shunned him anyway if they'd known of his eta past. He suddenly wanted to find this TARDIS and get away with the Doctor. Traveling with him was sounding more desirable by the moment.

He gritted his teeth when Ieyasu let out a howl of rage, spun around and backhanded the Doctor across the face.

"THAT WAS MY BEST WARRIOR, YOU ENGLISH DOG!" Ieyasu bellowed at the Doctor. "AND NOW HE'S USELESS TO ME!"

"I can think of men far more useless than him," the Doctor snarled back as he gave him a pointed look.

Hattori gasped when Ieyasu pulled his katana from his scabbard and raised it, preparing to chop off the Doctor's head. Ignoring his own safety, Hattori yelled for Ieyasu to stop while he got between his friend and his former master.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty Seven

Akira and Donna made it back to the secret tunnel without incident. Donna slid open the door and stepped inside.

"Get back to the Doctor and make sure those maniacs don't run a sword through him," Donna said to Akira.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna let those bastards kill him," Akira said. "Find Rose-san as quickly as you can and bring her back. We're gonna need all the help we can get."

Donna nodded. She stepped back and slid the door closed. She took the torch from its holder and ran down the tunnel, hoping she would find Rose quickly. When the door slid closed, Akira turned and headed back to the stairs.

XOXOXOXOXO

The room was deathly silent while Ieyasu stared at Hattori.

"What are you doing, you fool?" Yoshi finally said.

"Defending my friend," Hattori said. "You kill him, I kill you."

While everyone was distracted by Hattori, the Doctor manipulated the muscles in his wrists and slowly slid the ropes off. He paused a moment when Ieyasu turned his attention to him.

"What did you do to him?" Ieyasu bellowed at the Doctor.

"He saved my life," Hattori said to Ieyasu. "He stopped the ninjas from executed me and became my friend and now I'm going to return the favor and prevent you from killing him."

"You allied yourself with the ninjas?" Ieyasu said. "Is everyone around me turning traitor?"

"You care nothing for me or anyone else," Hattori said. "I'm just someone to fight your battles for you. You just told me I was useless because I lost my hand. Well, Doctor-sama looks beyond that and sees someone worth saving. I'd rather ally myself with a man like him than a callous, heartless monster like you."

Ieyasu let out an angry yell and raised his sword to decapitate Hattori but the Doctor jumped up, free of his bonds and hit him in the face. He used the moment of shock to grab a katana from the nearest samurai's scabbard and used the butt of it to hit the samurai in the face. Yoshi advanced on the samurai and stepped back quickly when Hattori shoved his katana in his face.

"You're a coward," Hattori said. "You hide behind the shogun and let him do the killing for you," Hattori said.

The other samurai recovered their shock and began to attack while Ieyasu and Yoshi fled the room. The Doctor and Hattori fought them off with their katanas, trying to fight their way to the entrance.

Then they heard an enraged yell and Akira entered the room and the fray. He stabbed the nearest samurai in the neck and the Doctor used the samurai's latest shock to knock out the nearest samurai with the butt of his katana. Hattori blocked a downward thrust with his katana and tried to swipe at the attacker. Akira came up behind him and rammed his katana into the samurai's neck. The samurai gurgled and Akira took his blade out, letting the dying samurai fall to the floor. The remaining samurai tried to leave the room but Akira pulled a throwing star out of a pouch hanging off his belt and threw it in the face of one. There were two remaining samurai and they fled the room.

"Is Donna alright?" the Doctor said.

"Yes, she's in the tunnel," Akira said.

"We need to go back to the tunnel and get to safety," Hattori said.

The Doctor shook his head.

"If we leave, they'll seal it off and I still need to find my TARDIS. We need to find it. Hattori, do you know where it might be?"

"I have an idea where it could be. Follow me," Hattori said.

The Doctor and Akira ran out of the room with Hattori before any more samurai blocked their escape.

XOXOXOXOXO

Rose heaved a frustrated gasp. She had gone over the wall and was searching for any sign of Donna, Akira or Hattori but they seemed to vanish into thin air. Before she left the trees, she added a bow and arrows to her arsenal. The quiver and bow was slung on her back while the katana was hanging off her side.

"Where'd they go?" she mumbled, "surely they didn't go back to the village. Not with Doctor-sama in danger."

She was about to turn and head back for the castle when she suddenly heard Donna calling to her. Relieved, she called out to her and ran towards the sound of her voice.

"Oh, good, you weren't hard to find," Donna said when she saw her. "Come on, there's a secret entrance into the castle. Everyone else is inside, they sent me to find you."

"Doctor-sama, is he alright?"

"They beat on him and his face is bloodied and bruised but as far as I know, he's alive."

Rose fought back the rage and asked Donna to show her the way. Donna led her to the hole and showed her the fake rock. Rose snorted.

"I thought the samurai were honorable men who didn't resort to trickery," she said mockingly. "Ah well, let's get back to the castle and finish this."

Donna climbed down first and waited with the torch while Rose climbed down after her. She ran with Donna through the tunnel, eager to reach the Doctor and her friends before they ended up dead.

XOXOXOXOXO

"I think it might be down here," Hattori said, leading down some stone steps into the dungeon. "Sometimes they store enemy weapons down here since the only way up are these steps."

"Let's hope you're right because here comes the reinforcements," the Doctor said, glancing over his shoulder when he heard the yells of the guards. "Will they look for us here?"

"Not sure. They might not do it right away. Only a fool would come down in the dungeon and get trapped here," Hattori said.

"Ah, well, been called a fool many a time," the Doctor said.

At the bottom of the steps was a wooden door. Hattori tried it and found it locked.

"I have to find the key," Hattori said.

"No worries, I have my own key," the Doctor said, pulling his sonic screwdriver out of the inside pocket of his kimono.

Hattori and Akira watched in wonder as the Doctor aimed the screwdriver at the iron keyhole, turned it on and they heard the lock click.

"Amazing," Akira said, shaking his head in awe as the Doctor opened the door.

"And if they try to lock us in, I have the way out," the Doctor said.

They went inside the musty, moldy dungeon. They saw a few cells on the right side and stone walls on the left. The Doctor aimed his screwdriver at an unlit torch and lit it, once again astounding his friends with his "magic" tool. He took the torch and they looked inside the cells. The cells had some old straw laid down on the dirt floors and there were a few skeletons in them but no living prisoners. At the last cell, the Doctor let out a yell of triumph when he saw his TARDIS in the back of the cell. He unlocked the iron door and Akira and Hattori guarded him while he ran to it.

"Hello, old girl, miss me?" he said as he pulled his key out of his inner pocket.

He unlocked the door and noticed the lights were dimly lit. He checked the power supply and found it was low but he estimated it might be enough to get the TARDIS back to the village where he could use his life energy to properly recharge it. He ran out and explained the situation to Akira and Hattori.

"So, we need to find the women and make it back here?" Akira said.

"Yes. We get Donna and Rose and get everyone in the TARDIS. I can use the TARDIS for one flight to the village. Once we're there, we should have plenty of time for me to recharge it properly."

"I'll go up and find them," Hattori said. "If I die, it won't matter."

"It'll matter to me," the Doctor said. "No, we all go. The TARDIS is safe; they can't break in or use it. I have the key and I'm the only one who can use it. We'll go in a group so we can fight the samurai as one."

He shut the door and walked out of the cell. After locking the cell door, they ran out of the dungeon. The Doctor locked the door behind them and they ran up the stairs in search of Donna and Rose.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty Eight

Donna slid open the secret door and peeked out. She couldn't see anyone nearby so she and Rose stepped out and she slide the door back.

"Where do we go?" Rose whispered.

"Downstairs. They were holding the Doctor in a room on the ground floor."

She stopped Rose when she started running towards the stairs.

"Wait, there were several samurai down there with him," Donna said.

"And they'll all be dead by the time I get through with them," Rose growled.

"Rose, don't. Don't go in there in a rage, you could be the one that ends up dead and then how would that help the Doctor?"

Rose considered that and nodded reluctantly. Donna breathed a sigh of relief knowing her friend wasn't going to go berserk and start killing without any thought. They hurried to the stairs and started downwards. They paused halfway down the stairs when they suddenly heard the sounds of battle and the sharp squeaks of the nightingale floor. One of the samurai ran to the stairs to call up for help and froze when he saw Rose and Donna. Rose let out a howl of rage and ran down the stairs towards the shocked warrior. Donna watched in horror as Rose rammed her katana into his forehead. The samurai fell back with the katana between his eyes and Rose followed him down. She looked off to her left and saw the Doctor, Akira and Hattori fighting several samurai. She and Donna jerked their heads around and looked up the stairs when they heard samurai calling out that they were coming to help. Rose grabbed her bow, pulled out an arrow and aimed it at then nearest samurai. She hit the back of his leg and the samurai let out a howl of pain as he fell to the ground. The Doctor spun around and noticed the two women. Rose yelled at him to watch out and the Doctor ducked as a katana sliced the air over his head. Rose pulled another arrow out of her quiver and aimed at the samurai. She cursed when the Doctor's head blocked her aim and she quickly put her arrow back and slung her bow around her chest when a samurai ran towards her and Donna.

Donna pulled out her tanto and Rose grabbed her katana. Rose blocked the sword thrusts of the samurai and tried to disarm him while Donna tried to get around him and attack from behind. She looked up the stairs when three samurai appeared at the top and headed down towards her. She reached into her inner pocket and pulled out a smoke bomb. She threw it hard against the stairs and it exploded. The samurai yelled in surprise when the smoke enveloped them. Donna pulled out another one and threw it at the feet of the samurai attacking Rose. Rose jumped back when the smoke came out and thrust her sword into the smoke. She heard a grunt when the sword hit the top of the samurai's chest above his breastplate and he pulled it out again.

Rose put her sword back in the scabbard and grabbed her bow. She ran through the smoke while grabbing an arrow from her quiver. She looked around but the other samurai were either dead or unconscious. She saw the Doctor's face and her teeth clenched in rage.

"Rose, calm down, I'm okay," the Doctor said, holding up his hands when he saw her rage.

Rose relaxed the string of her bow and hugged the Doctor with one arm. The Doctor noticed the samurai lying dead at the foot of the stairs, his forehead covered with wet blood. He knew Rose did that but he felt like he couldn't lecture her at the moment since Hattori and Akira had also taken lives. He made a mental note to speak to both her and Hattori once they were in the other universe.

"What do we do now?" Donna said.

"We found the TARDIS," the Doctor said. "We can take you to it and we have power enough for a trip back to the village. If we go there, I can recharge it. It'll take time but hopefully the samurai won't go back to Iga in pursuit."

"What about Ieyasu?" Donna said.

"Leave him. He's a part of historical events, as much as I hate to say it," the Doctor said.

"You're going to let him go?" Rose said in disbelief. "After all he's done?"

"I know it might be hard for you to understand but sometimes some people must be left unharmed so that time stays on its proper course. Ieyasu will get his in due time but not today. Today we do what we came here to do and get the TARDIS and go. Okay?"

Rose nodded and the Doctor squeezed her hand. They heard angry voices in the distance and all of them headed for the dungeon.

"Hopefully we can get down there and get inside before they catch up with us," the Doctor said, looking over his shoulder.

They ran faster when they heard the samurai coming down the stairs. They reached the stairs leading down to the basement and everyone let the Doctor go in front. The Doctor reached the door, opened it with his screwdriver and he let everyone go through before he ran inside and locked the door. Hattori ran to the last cell and the Doctor ran towards him. He opened the cell and ushered everyone into the cell while he pulled his key out of his inner pocket.

"This is it?" Rose said, touching the wooden side.

"The one and only," the Doctor said, unlocking the door. "Everyone inside, now!"

He held the door open and everyone ran inside. Rose, Akira and Hattori froze on the ramp and looked around at the interior as the Doctor came inside and shut the door.

"Yup, bigger on the inside," he said when he turned and saw them. "Excuse me though, gotta get us out of here."

He pushed past them to the console. Everyone walked up to it and stood around it while the Doctor instructed the TARDIS to head to the mountaintop village.

"Come on, girl, you can do it. Get us there in one piece," the Doctor said, patting the rim when he finished with his instructions.

The TARDIS rotot started but the Doctor could tell his ship was weak and it was taking all she had to move. He was glad that she wasn't completely out of power like the first time they went out of universe and he rubbed the rim comfortingly while the TARDIS gave it all she had to move herself to the village.

"Are we traveling?" Rose said to the Doctor.

"Yes. Barely but she's moving," the Doctor said. "We should be there in a minute or two."

"And you'll repair your ship when we get back to the village?" Hattori said.

"Yup. I just need enough time for her to take my life energy and incorporate it into her own circuits. It may take a full day but at least we'll be away from Osaka and up in the mountains. If Ieyasu tries to follow us, it'll take time for them to come to the village and we can warn the others to keep an eye out for them."

There was a slight bump and the TARDIS powered down.

"What's happening? Is the machine not working?" Rose said, looking around as the lights went out completely.

"We're here in the village but the TARDIS just gave out completely. But she got us here and I can restart her now. But first…we better go outside and explain to any stunned villager what this is so they don't throw it on the fire."


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty Nine

After feeling his way through the dark to the ramp, the Doctor opened the doors and sure enough there was a crowd of curious onlookers from the village gaping at the TARDIS. The Doctor pushed past them while Donna guarded the entrance, found two torches, lit them and ran back to his ship. The onlookers watched while the Doctor handed the torches to Rose, pulled up a floor grate and went down under the console. The Doctor pulled out one of the power cells and Rose knelt down with Akira and Hattori watching while the Doctor blew on it.

"What are you doing?" Akira said.

"Giving my energy to my ship," he said while the cell glowed green briefly and then began its power up cycle. "It'll take time but hopefully we'll have plenty of that now."

He came up out of the hole after putting the cell back and put the grate back in the floor. By now, Donna had brought Toshi inside the ship and he looked around the interior in silent shock.

"Toshi, my friend, welcome to my ship," the Doctor said, walking over to him.

"Are you sure you aren't a kami?" Toshi said.

"Pretty sure," the Doctor said. "But I do have alien technology at my disposal and that's what this is."

"Gods, your face," Toshi said when he got a good look at his bruised and bloodied face.

"Oh yes, have to deal with that as well. Donna, shut the door. Everyone inside can stay here but I don't need the console room crammed with curious ninjas. I need to go back to the med bay so why not give our new friends the scenic tour."

Donna nodded. She quickly explained to the crowd that the Doctor wanted the door closed before shutting it. The Doctor thanked her while giving her one of the torches and taking the other one. He told everyone he would be back soon and left the toom. Rose hesitated a moment and then followed him.

The Doctor paused and raised his eyebrow when he saw Rose behind him.

"That wasn't very stealthy," he teased. "I thought you ninja were masters of sneaking up on people."

"I wasn't trying to be sneaky."

"Oh. Well, come with me. I want to have a chat while I fix my face."

He waited till Rose was at his side before he resumed his pace. While they walked, the Doctor spoke with Rose about killing people.

"A ninja is trained to kill people," Rose said after she listened to his objections about it.

"I've been trained to kill people as well but I don't use it unless I have to. I want you and Hattori to come with me but you can't go into every situation with swords drawn."

"Hattori is coming too?"

"Yes, I invited it. He has no family and no career now that his hand is gone. Although I promised I would have someone build a new hand for him. I will speak to him as well but I just want you to know that there are other ways to deal with situations besides killing people. If that lot out there killed Hattori, he wouldn't have been around to help us. Not every person is deserving of death and that includes samurai. Hattori became one to hide his eta past and have a well paying career. He's not a bloodthirsty killer. Now I'm sure there are killers employed by Ieyasu who enjoying killing for the hell of it but isn't that true for the ninjas?"

Rose thought about that and nodded.

"What I do requires a lot of strategy and outwitting an opponent. Unlike you, I don't carry tons of weapons with me into every situation. I use my mind and try to outthink my foes before I resort to maiming and killing them. I would like you and Hattori to do the same. Will you try that?"

"I would do anything for you, Doctor-sama."

"Good, although I don't want you to be an obedient robot. You don't have to follow me blindly, just use your noddle a bit more and please quit using sama after my name. I know it's a mark of respect like saying sir but I don't like it. I'd rather be called Doctor and leave the honorifics outside."

"I thought it would honor you," Rose said. "Sama is the highest form of address to someone."

"I know but it grates on my nerves. I don't think of myself as deserving of an honorific. I want to be close with my companions and calling me sama creates a distance I don't like. I understand if you slip up sometimes but could you also try not to use sama after my name?"

"Yes…Doctor."

"Thank you. I'll speak to Hattori about that as well. I never could understand why people needed to call me sir or sama or your highness or grand poobah and things like that. I'm just the regular old Doctor."

They reached the med bay and the Doctor handed Rose the torch and showed her inside.

XOXOXOXOXO

By the time the Doctor was done, the blood was off his face and the bruises were slowly disappearing. Rose nodded while he looked in a mirror.

"Your face is improving," she said.

"Yes. I have many medicines that work quickly. The bruises will probably be completely gone in an hour or two. So…back to the front then?"

Rose nodded and the Doctor took her hand, giving it a squeeze while they walked back to the console room. By the time they got there, it was empty and the Doctor was pleased to see that the TARDIS had incorporated enough power that the lights were dimly lit, giving enough light to see without the torch.

"I s'pose Donna is giving the tour to the others," he said. "I should do that for you. You need to know where things are in here,"

"Are you sure you want me to come with you, Doctor-sa…Doctor?"

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't want you with me."

"I just thought it would be painful having me here when I look like the other Rose."

The Doctor took her hand and squeezed it.

"It was at first, I will admit that but the other Rose is in another universe starting a brand new life with a version of me and I decided that perhaps I could do the same with you and follow their example. I want you here, Rose. I enjoy your company and you're a brilliant warrior. We just have to get that killing instinct toned down a bit but you and Hattori will be assets to me. Besides, you and Hattori can teach Donna how to fight. She could use the lessons."

The Doctor kissed her forehead.

"You are wanted here, Rose. Don't ever doubt that."

Rose's heart beat rapidly when she realized that was the first time anyone had ever said that to her. She knew then that going with the Doctor would be the right decision.

"So…would you like a tour as well? I have a torch," the Doctor said.

"I'd love one," Rose said.

The Doctor put his arm around her and led her out of the room.

XOXOXOXOXO

When the Doctor concluded the tour, he found everyone else in the kitchen drinking tea.

"I did the same thing," the Doctor said. "I gave Rose the quick tour so she'd be familiar with the layout of the TARDIS."

"Doctor-sama…" Toshi said, rising from a chair beside the table.

"Um…Doctor doesn't like sama, he told me not to use it," Rose said.

The Doctor chuckled when Toshi gave him an odd look.

"It's alright, just go on with what you were about to say," the Doctor said, holding up his hand.

"Doctor-sama, after all you've done for us, I have decided to adopt you as a son and adopt Donna-san as a daughter," Toshi said.

"Really?" the Doctor said overjoyed. "Thank you!"

"Thank you," Donna said, beaming..

"No, thank you. We have been blessed by your presence here. You have done so much for us and you will always be welcome here anytime you wish to return," Toshi said to them.

"Um…I'm not sure when that will be but if we ever do pop by I will be sure to come and see you," the Doctor said, sharing a look with Donna as she chuckled.

Toshi walked over to him and hugged him tightly. The Doctor smiled and returned the hug. Then he did the same with Donna.

"Thank you, my son and daughter from the stars, may the gods and kami smile upon you always."

The Doctor and Donna thanked him warmly. Toshi nodded and asked if everyone wanted to come to his house for supper. Everyone agreed to it and the Doctor and Donna led the way back towards the console room.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

"Doctor?" Rose said, knocking on the TARDIS door.

It was several hours after the Doctor gave his life force to the TARDIS and his ship was now at half power. The lights were bright enough that they no longer needed the torches. The Doctor had been looking for a rift they could go through while Donna rested in her room. Rose left with Hattori and Akira to say goodbye to Toshi and spend some time with him.

The Doctor walked over to the door and smiled as he opened it.

"Hullo," he said. "Did you have a nice visit with Toshi?"

"Yes. But there was an alarm raised. The samurai are back in the forest heading this way."

The Doctor's eyes darkened.

"Do they need my help?" he said.

"I don't think so. Half the warriors have gone down to attack them. They know this isn't your battle so they didn't bother coming to ask you."

"But it's no trouble, I can help."

"Doctor, they're fine," Rose said, raising her hand. "The villagers managed to survive before you came here and they'll survive once you've left. There's only ten samurai anyway, they can handle that."

"What about you? Are you ready to go?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes. I will miss Toshi but I think Hattori and me are ready to go with you. This isn't my world and it never has been. I may have been brought up Japanese but I'm not. There was always that gap between me and everyone else. I want to go and see other places now."

"I know how you feel. It's why I left my home world in the first place. I felt out of place among my people as well."

They heard yelling and Rose turned towards the door. She ran outside to see what was going on while the Doctor leaned back against the rim of the console. Rose returned five minutes later with Hattori.

"They killed the samurai, the threat is over," Rose said, coming inside with Hattori. "I know you don't like to hear that."

"No, but I can't control everyone around here," the Doctor said. "I could give them a lecture on why you should leave killing as a last resort but they might run me through. All of this is just a smaller microcosm of what's going on all overJapan. It'll be a couple of centuries before peace comes. I can't change the whole country. But you and Hattori don't have to be a part of that, thankfully. You can leave and broaden your horizons."

"Toshi-sama wants to invite you and Donna-sa…Donna for tea," Hattori said.

"Well, Donna is sleeping, I think, but I'd be more than happy to have tea with Toshi before we go. Lead on, my friends."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The next morning, the Doctor and Donna stood outside the TARDIS with Rose and Hattori while Toshi, Akira and the villagers crowded around them to say goodbye.

"I will miss you deeply," Toshi said. "But you have enriched our lives by being here."

"Not to mention we'll be telling the story of your visit for years and years until it becomes a legend," Akira said.

"Well, you wouldn't be the only ones to do that," the Doctor said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "I have aliens and humans all over the universe who have legends about me. Be careful, eh? A great fighter like yourself needs to take care so your head doesn't end up on a pike."

"Same to you. The universe would suffer a great loss if you and Donna-san died."

"I don't know about me so much…" Donna said then trailed off when the Doctor gave her an amused look. "Yeah, you're right…supertemp," she said.

Toshi hugged the Doctor, Donna and Rose and bowed to Hattori. Hattori returned the bow.

"Well, I think the old girl is charged up and ready to go," the Doctor said. "And we might have an exit point so we better head towards the stars and…"

He groaned when Toshi, Akira and the villagers fell down and prostrated themselves before him.

"Oh bugger, I hate this need to worship me," the Doctor muttered to Donna while she snickered. "Um…thank you. And now, we will say goodbye to all of you and good luck."

Rose and Hattori waved goodbye when the villagers got back up. The Doctor warned them to stand back as his companions got inside the TARDIS. He waved goodbye one more time before getting inside and closing the door. The villagers watched in awe while the TARDIS dematerialized and vanished.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Once the TARDIS landed and powered down, the Doctor opened the door and stuck his head out. He grinned when he saw he was across the Thames from the London Eye. He stepped out and looked up and his grin widened when he saw no zeppelins in the sky.

"I think we're home," the Doctor said as everyone stepped out. "This, Rose and Hattori, is London, England. It's sometime after the year 2000 since the London Eye is here. What d'ya think?"

"This is wonderful," Rose said as he and Hattori looked around.

"Yeah, it's nice but it can be a bit boring at times. I come here so often it feels like a second home. So why don't we do something more exciting. Another planet perhaps?"

"Um…wherever you want to go is fine by me," Rose said.

"Very well," the Doctor said, taking her hand. "Everyone get back inside and we'll get this road on the show!"

He waited until Donna and Hattori got back inside before he gave Rose's hand a squeeze and grinned at her. He kissed the back of her hand and she and the Doctor went inside the TARDIS. He shut the door and a moment later, the TARDIS vanished from view.

THE END.


End file.
